AS IS | Leon Löwentraut
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    • 3 min read

AS IS | Leon Löwentraut

Artist

From Kaiserslautern, Germany

Based near Düsseldorf, Germany, and in Algarve, Portugal


Leon's star has risen rather quickly: after holding his first exhibition at just 15, he is now one of the most visible young talents on the contemporary art scene. His canvases are rich and detailed, colorful, and expressive


Landscape, Copyright: LeonLöwentraut, Cirque du Soleil, Copyright: LeonLöwentraut, The Circle, Copyright: LeonLöwentraut


A: Please, tell us a bit more about yourself. What brought you into art?


L: I came into contact with art at a very early age: My mother was a hobby painter, and there were tubes of paint all over the house. I sold my first paintings to the local pizzeria when I was twelve. I had my first exhibition at the age of 15 in a gallery near Munich. After that, it was one after the other: first solo show in Hamburg, London, Singapore, Berlin, Düsseldorf, New York, Florence, Copenhagen, Venice, Vienna, Zurich, and Madrid.


Painting is like breathing for me. It makes me happy, makes me forget the world. When I paint, I am completely myself, penetrating into another sphere of my ego. My favorite place is my studio.


I was born in 1998 in Kaiserslautern in southwestern Germany and live and work near Düsseldorf, one of the art capitals of Germany, and in Portugal at the Algarve. Right now I am in Miami. At Art Miami, my work was represented at two booths. In addition, my works are currently being shown at the Rudolf Budja Gallery in Miami. From December 14, my works of mine will be exhibited at Bucherer in New York.



A: What inspires you the most?


L: What inspires me the most are encounters with people and traveling. When I travel, I always have my sketchpad with me. My studies are then processed in the studio.



A: Do you have any specific rituals while working(creating)?


L: I work at night when the world is asleep and I can completely immerse myself in my cosmos. Then I turn up the music - and off I go.


A: What would you recommend to someone new to art (an artist or just an admirer), what to begin with?


L: It doesn't matter what you start with, the important thing is that you start. If you want to become an artist, you must not lose faith in yourself. Very important: discipline and talent.



A: Your top 3 adjectives related to art?


L: Timeless, inspiring, free.


Leon Löwentraut, credit: Sebastian Drüen, copyright: Leon Löwentraut


A: The best angle to look at art is from ...?


L: Art should be looked at from as many angles as possible. The more, the better.


A: The perfect phrase to start any conversation about art is: ...?


L: "What do you feel when you see this painting?"


A: Must-read books to help us talk about art (or do we even need them)?


L: Nothing needs to be read, art speaks for itself. But I recommend, for example, the biography of the Apple founder Steve Jobs, because you can learn a lot from the gifted mastermind who uncompromisingly followed his idea. Otherwise, biographies of Picasso and Basquiat. Or, why not: my monograph was published by teNeues, which was just presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair and is now also available in America.


A: If you could change one thing in the art world - what would it be?


L: More support for young artists.


A: Please, share your favorite quote (not necessarily related to art).


L: "Success has two letters DO" (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe).



Thank you!


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