Michael Kunze attended art school, the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, in the late 80s till the early 90s &mdash; the time when the interest in new media was just picking up. But the use of new media was completely forbidden to the budding artists. <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2012/dec/Michael.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 653px;" /> Michael Kunze&rsquo;s oil on canvas titled Echo Pool &ldquo;If one intensified his interest in this blind spot, despite this prohibition, everybody looked at him as if he were an uneducated person. Such a stupid monotheistic view causes suspicion and raises the spirit of opposition. So it got clearer that this would be my area of interest,&rdquo; explains Kunze, talking about the style of painting he adopted early in life. &ldquo;But the task I have set myself is not only to critique. The task is to create a new, contextually embedded image, which brings to the spectator a visual memory of something that he never experienced. He recognises many things but doesn&rsquo;t know why and how he can recognise them.&rdquo; The artist uses dark imagery and concrete landscapes to shows us a &ldquo;hidden path of modernism&rdquo;. He uses motifs and historical references that present an image of the world other than the mainstream modernity we are accustomed to. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a sort of anti-modern modernity, a dark but red and large cloud, from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche&rsquo;s tragedy studies to Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier&rsquo;s Antichrist.&rdquo; <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2012/dec/Adriatic.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 650px;" /> Kunze, whose work is on display for the first time in India, has especially created eight large canvases. &ldquo;The director Ashwin Thadani approached me in Berlin and invited me to exhibit my work. India is a country that has so much heritage, culture and history that in my opinion any artist would be honoured to showcase their works here,&rdquo; says Kunze, who visited India for the first time to open the exhibition. Signing off, he offers valuable advice to young artists. &ldquo;Every artist must believe in his talent and should be dedicated, focused and innovative to achieve his ultimate goal.&rdquo; Until: February 12, 2013 At: Gallery ISA, 132, Great Western Building, 1st floor, SBS Road, opp Lion Gate, Fortu00a0

A cut above the rest

German contemporary artist Michael Kunze wants his artwork to evoke a memory of something that never existed for the spectator

A dark look at the modern world

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A dark look at the modern world

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