Armin Mueller-Stahl, an impressive contemporary witness, an exceptional talent, a person who fills a room when he enters it. What a gift to have experienced him today in the midst of his works at the Kunsthalle St. En passant, a piece of cultural history comes alive for me today.
Armin Mueller-Stahl has experienced many formative greats of the film business and literature, art and music, worked with them, cultivated friendships. The approximately pictures shown in the exhibition were selected together with the artist. This creates an exciting arc.
He still loves to stay in California to this day. He is particularly moved by the situation of people who are forced to flee or migrate. The topic of international understanding is very close to his heart — at a time when a split in society is becoming noticeable and attacks on synagogues and Jewish institutions are becoming more frequent. All the personalities portrayed by the artist, although some of them are not widely known, have in their own way left their mark on the world.
One example is the portrait of Eric M. A veritable fireworks display of names, dates and facts. When asked which genre he likes best in his artistic work, he answers that for him music is clearly the basis of everything. An art form that can be developed most quickly and that always touches people, since everyone associates memories with music and, for example, still knows exactly which song was playing when they were in love for the first time.
So it is not a bit surprising to hear that he likes to play the violin or piano before his works and that many of his works were created while listening to suitable pieces of music. And also currently Mueller-Stahl listens to jazz while painting jazz greats.
