Veit Laurent Kurz

Veit Kurz
Born1985 (age 40–41)
Erbach, Hesse, West Germany
Education
Occupations
Websitemegayaproject.com

Veit Laurent Kurz (born 1985)[1] is a German visual artist based in Berlin.[2][3] He creates installations that primarily consist of paintings, drawings, and sculptures, and later also incorporate video, sound, and text.[4][5] His work is associated with post-technological approaches and explores constructed environments, combining organic motifs with synthetic materials and industrial surfaces.[6][7]

He exhibits internationally,[8][9] including at the Miguel Abreu Gallery,[2] Le Magasin,[10] the High Line,[11][12] and Kunstverein Nürnberg,[13][14] and was part of Produktion. Made in Germany Three (2017), a large-scale survey exhibition on contemporary art in Germany, organized by Kestner Gesellschaft, Kunstverein Hannover, and Sprengel Museum.[15]

His work has been reviewed in publications including Artforum,[16] Frieze,[17] and Kunstkritikk,[18] and has been featured in coverage of Gallery Weekend Berlin in Die Zeit.[19]

Education

Kurz studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main from 2005 to 2009.[6] He then attended the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main from 2009 to 2012,[20] where he studied fine arts under Michael Krebber.[21]

Career

Kurz began exhibiting in 2009.[3] His installations frequently combine constructed environments with found or natural materials, a practice he has described as the assembly of hybrid systems reflecting relationships between bodies and environments.[4]

In 2013, he collaborated with Anne Imhof at Portikus, which included the music performance of "Beautiful Balance".[22][23] Kurz co-initiated the group exhibition S.O.A.P.Y. (Servants Order of Ancient Psychic Youth), which later developed into the collaborative project Vetjylien N'gyrz with Julien Nguyen.[24][25]

Two ongoing projects, Herba-4 (2014–) and Corium (2021), address themes related to environmental precarity and cross-border biopolitics.[7] In an interview with The Blank, Kurz described his work as concerned with the interaction of ecological and psychological systems.[4]

Kurz has developed a recurring fictional character, Der Dilldapp, adapted from a figure by German Romantic writer Clemens Brentano.[26] The character was first created for Bed-Stuy Love Affair's[27][28] presentation at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (2015),[6][29][30] and also appears in later works, most notably in The Dilldapp Memorial (2019/2020).[31]

In 2016, Kurz participated in a puppet show in Brooklyn alongside artists such as Rochelle Goldberg, Jacky Connolly, Ficus Interfaith, Martine Fougeron, and Daniela Lalita.[32][33] He collaborated with Stefan Tcherepnin at MoMA PS1 as part of the "Sunday Sessions" program.[17][34]

He subsequently collaborated with Tcherepnin, and Goldberg in the context of Reading International in 2017.[35] Kurz participated with his installation "RElife" in Made in Germany Drei at Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover. He transforms the romantic idyll of landscapes into whimsical, fairy-tale-like scenes. His biotope-like sculptures are interwoven with elements of architecture and design. Thematically, he links unbridled consumption with ecological disaster, treating both as two sides of the same coin.[36][37]

In 2019, Monopol magazine listed Kurz's solo exhibition Nutrition and Drama at Isabella Bortolozzi Galerie among the highlights of Gallery Weekend Berlin.[38]

Kurz presented a solo exhibition titled Thyroxin (2020) at Weiss Falk Gallery in Basel. An exhibition text notes references to the Chernobyl disaster and describes imagery related to radiation, poisoning, and psychological experiences such as anxiety and trauma.[39] His solo exhibitions include Sequence 7: One Work, One Week at Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York (2020).[2]

The influence of the history of experimental and organic architecture on Kurz's practice is visible in Winterfest: An Exhibition of Arts and Crafts, shown at the Aspen Art Museum in 2021.[40]

In 2023, he was part of the exhibition Old Veins, New Tunnels at Galerie Heidi in Berlin, alongside Alicja Wahl, Alina Szapocznikow and Leidy Churchman.[41]

Kurz's practice of world-building that draws from German folklore, psychology, and contemporary environmental crises is visible in the exhibition Art & Ecology (2025) at the contemporary art gallery What Pipeline in Detroit.[5][42][43]

Along with eight other artists, Kurz is featured in the exhibition ibid. (2026) at the Kunstverein Nürnberg.[14] In the same year, Kurz presented Green Sanctuary (C.O.T.B.) at Haus am Waldsee in Berlin, exploring ecological relationships and cultural ideas of nature through the imagined perspective of bees. The exhibition is part of his ongoing Circle of the Bee project.[44][45]

Major works

Kurz has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions in Europe and the United States. Major installations include:

Herba-4

Herba-4 is a fictional healing elixir conceptualized in 2014 that appears in sculptural dispensaries, mock advertising campaigns, and immersive installations. The project has been interpreted as a critique of greenwashing and corporate wellness culture.[7] It has been exhibited at Le Magasin CNAC Grenoble (2017),[10] Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst (2020),[1] Kunsthalle Gießen (2021),[3] and Kunstverein Dortmund (2022).[7]

The Dilldapp cycle

The Dilldapp cycle is a recurring mythology in Kurz's work that adapts Clemens Brentano's romantic character into a contemporary fictional figure.[26] It appears across sculptural, narrative, and performative formats, including The Dilldapp Memorial (2019/2020).[31]

Corium

Corium (2021) is a project presented at the Into Nature – New Energy biennial, and exhibited at Kunsthalle Lingen, where it was shown in the context of artistic responses to energy production and ecological transformation. The work includes an installation and a video component and takes its title from the lava-like material formed during a nuclear reactor meltdown.[46]

Metaphors & Mutations / Lava Trilogie

Lava Trilogie is a publication released in 2019 by Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft in conjunction with the exhibition Metaphors & Mutations. The project explores symbolic associations between volcanic terrain and nuclear energy.[13]

Reception

Kurz's work has been discussed in several contemporary art publications. In Artforum, his projects have been interpreted as drawing on mythological and narrative structures within contemporary contexts.[16] Writing in Frieze, critics have highlighted the hybrid character of his installations, combining artificial materials with organic imagery and spatial staging.[17] In Kunstkritikk, his work has been described as extending beyond conventional exhibition formats, while other reviews have emphasized its use of complex narrative systems and immersive environments.[18][47]

Representation

  • Isabella Bortolozzi Gallery, Berlin[38]
  • Oskar Weiss Gallery (former Weiss Falk Gallery), Basel[48][49]

Publications

  • Kurz, Veit Laurent, and Stefan Tcherepnin. Diary of Steit. Detroit: What Pipeline, 2015.[50]
  • Kurz, Veit Laurent, and Levi Easterbrooks. "The Bavarian Vampire 1–4." In Starship 17. Edited by Gerry Bibby, Nikola Dietrich, Martin Ebner, Ariane Müller, and Henrik Olesen. 2018.[51]
  • Kurz, Veit Laurent. "An Artist's Guide to the Best in Berlin, Basel and Beyond in 2018." Frieze, December 24, 2018.[52]
  • Kurz, Veit Laurent. "Scattered Impressions from an Archive." In Klima #06 – Mutabilities, edited by Loucia Carlier, Alicia Reymond, and Antonine Scali Ringwald, 84–88. Les Presses du réel, 2024.[53]

Awards

In 2020, Kurz received the 42nd Matteo Olivero Award,[54] and the 4th Battaglia Foundry Sculpture Prize.[3][55][56]

References

  1. 1 2 Krolczyk, Radek (April 11, 2017). "Großes ist geschehen, wir wissen bloß nicht was" [Something big has happened, we just don't know what]. TAZ (in German). Archived from the original on April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sequence 7: one work, one week". Miguel Abreu Gallery. Archived from the original on April 4, 2026. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Veit Laurent Kurz" (PDF). Kunsthalle Gießen. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Kurz, Veit Laurent. "TB Board Interview to Veit Laurent Kurz" (Interview). Interviewed by Baffi, Laura. Bergamo, Italy: The Blank Contemporary Art. Archived from the original on April 4, 2026. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Cook, Ashley; Pinter, Chris (January 29, 2026). "Art & Ecology: Veit Laurent Kurz at What Pipeline". Runner Magazine. Detroit: Ashley Cook. Archived from the original on April 5, 2026. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Demircan, Saim. "In Focus: Veit Laurent". Frieze. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Kurz, Veit Laurent (2014). "Veit Laurent Kurz presents HERBA-4". DIS Magazine. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  8. ↑ "ENQUÊTE ARCANE – Paris Avant Première" [ARCANE INVESTIGATION – Paris Preview] (in French). Paris: Association DOC. October 11, 2019. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  9. ↑ ""Playing with Bones" Rochelle Goldberg, Rosa Joly, Michel Journiac, Veit Laurent Kurz, Matt Mullican, Paul B. Preciado, Walter Price, Elif Saydam, Sebastian Wiegand, Belinda Zhawi" (in French). Marseille: La Traverse. May 20, 2022. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Doom: surface contrôle" [Doom: Surface Control]. Paris-Art (in French). Paris: Association parisART. October 10, 2013. Archived from the original on October 18, 2025. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Mutations | High Line Art". E-flux. April 6, 2017. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  12. ↑ "An Art Tour of NYC: Museums and Mutations". Lakeville Journal. June 28, 2017. Archived from the original on April 5, 2026. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  13. 1 2 "Veit Laurent Kurz at Kunstverein Nürnberg". Contemporary Art Writing Daily. August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on January 7, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Ruf, Birgit (July 3, 2026). "Ausstellung an drei Orten | Von Nürnberg aus in die Kunstwelt: 30 Stipendiaten kehren zurück und feiern die Malerei" [Exhibition at Three Venues | From Nuremberg to the Art World: 30 Scholarship Recipients Return and Celebrate Painting]. Nürnberger Nachrichten (in German). Archived from the original on August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Produktion. Made in Germany Drei". E-flux. June 10, 2017. Archived from the original on January 18, 2025. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  16. 1 2 Madsen, Kristian Vistrup (September 2019). "Veit Laurent Kurz". Artforum. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  17. 1 2 3 Langley, Patrick. "Master of Puppets". Frieze. Archived from the original on August 12, 2025. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  18. 1 2 Madsen, Kristian Vistrup (June 3, 2022). "I den tyske kunstfabrik" [Inside the German Art Factory]. Kunstkritikk (in Danish). Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  19. ↑ Beermann, Claire (April 25, 2019). "Gallery Weekend | Drei Tage in Berlin" [Gallery Weekend | Three days in Berlin]. Die Zeit (in German). Archived from the original on April 5, 2026. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz - Nutrition & Drama". Städelschule. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Absolventenausstellung 2012 "Zauderberg" der Städelschule im MMK-Zollamt (3)" [2012 "Zauderberg" Graduating Class Exhibition by the Städelschule at the MMK-Zollamt (3)]. FeuilletonFrankfurt (in German). Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Petra Kammann. Archived from the original on November 10, 2025. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Anne Imhof: Parade". Portikus. September 7, 2013. Archived from the original on January 17, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz – Performances". Berlin: Isabella Bortolozzi Galerie. Archived from the original on January 12, 2026. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  24. ↑ Servant Order of Ancient Psychic Youth:
    • "S.O.A.P.Y. I". Contemporary Art Daily. November 14, 2013. Archived from the original on April 5, 2026. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
    • "S.O.A.P.Y. II". Contemporary Art Daily. November 23, 2013. Archived from the original on April 5, 2026. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
    • "S.O.A.P.Y. III". Contemporary Art Daily. August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
    • "SOAPY IV". Contemporary Art Daily. May 15, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  25. ↑ Vetjylien N'gyrz:
  26. 1 2 Reichert, Kolja (2017). "Made in Germany Drei. Produktion". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  27. ↑ Russeth, Andrew (December 13, 2015). "Because This Gallery Can Get Stuck in Traffic". New York. Archived from the original on December 2, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Seau Banco Carbon" (PDF). Bed-Stuy Love Affair. New York. December 19, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  29. ↑ Binlot, Ann (November 11, 2015). "Rachel Rose, Jared Madere Take Center Stage At The Whitney Art Party". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  30. ↑ Graver, David (November 11, 2015). "Jared Madere's RV Installation Outside the Whitney Museum". Cool Hunting. New York: Captain Lucas. Archived from the original on November 14, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  31. 1 2 Kurz, Veit Laurent (2020). "The Dilldapp Memorial 2019". MegayaProject.com. Berlin. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  32. ↑ Haynes, Victoria. "15Orient". 15Orient.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  33. ↑ Haynes, Victoria (October 29, 2016). "15Orient". BettyRoytBurd.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2026. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Sunday Sessions Commission: Tobias Madison and Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Rotting Wood, the Dripping Word: Shūji Terayama's Kegawa no Marii". MoMA PS1. April 16, 2016. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  35. ↑ Clausen, Susanne, ed. (2020). "Ante Phylloxera by Rochelle Goldberg, Veit Laurent Kurz, Stefan Tcherepnin and Hanna Törnudd". Reading International (PDF). Reading International. pp. 35–39. ISBN 978-1-912115-68-6. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 28, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2026 – via OnCurating.org.
  36. ↑ "Die Kunst der Produktion in Deutschland | Konsum und Öko-Katastrophe" [The Art of Manufacturing in Germany | Consumption and Ecological Disaster] (in German). Deutsche Welle. June 2, 2017. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  37. ↑ "Produktion. Made in Germany Drei" (PDF). Hannover. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 24, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  38. 1 2 "Galerienwochenende in Berlin | 9 Ausstellungen, die Sie beim Gallery Weekend nicht verpassen sollten" [Gallery Weekend in Berlin | 9 exhibitions you shouldn't miss at Gallery Weekend]. Monopol (in German). April 26, 2019. Archived from the original on November 14, 2025. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  39. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz at Weiss Falk". Artviewer.org. April 22, 2021. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  40. ↑ "Artist Talk: Veit Laurent Kurz and Saim Demircan". Aspen Art Museum. January 28, 2021. Archived from the original on January 28, 2026. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  41. ↑ "Leidy Churman / David Douard / Anthea Hamilton / Veit Laurent Kurz / Adam Martin / Alina Szapocznikow / Alicja Wahl / Royce Weatherly | Old Veins, New Tunnels". HeidiGallery.com. Berlin. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  42. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz | Art & Ecology | November 7 - December 20, 2025". Contemporary Art Daily. November 7, 2025. Archived from the original on August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  43. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz | Art & Ecology | November 7 - December 20, 2025". Detroit: What Pipeline. November 7, 2025. Archived from the original on April 5, 2026. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  44. ↑ "80 Jahre Haus am Waldsee Berlin: Wo ich wohne" [80 Years of Haus am Waldsee Berlin: Where I Live]. Kunstforum International (in German). June 12, 2026. Archived from the original on August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  45. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz | Green Sanctuary (C.O.T.B) | 14.6. – 27.9.2026". Berlin: Haus am Waldsee. Archived from the original on August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  46. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz – CORIUM 30. Juli bis 24. Oktober 2021" [Veit Laurent Kurz – CORIUM 30. Juli through 24. Oktober] (in German). Kunsthalle Lingen. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  47. ↑ Gantert, Nora (September 1, 2019). "Hélène Fauquet, Interiors. Veit Laurent Kurz, Metaphors and Mutations: Archäologie des Jetzt" [Hélène Fauquet, Interiors. Veit Laurent Kurz, Metaphors and Mutations: Archaeology of the Present]. Artline (in German). Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  48. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz". OskarWeiss.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2026. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  49. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz". WeissFalk.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2026. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  50. ↑ Kurz, Veit Laurent; Tcherepnin, Stefan (2015). Diary of Steit. Detroit: What Pipeline. p. 20. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  51. ↑ Kurz, Veit Laurent; Easterbrooks, Levi (Winter 2018). "The Bavarian Vampire 1–4". Starship (17). Berlin. Archived from the original on May 18, 2026. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  52. ↑ Kurz, Veit Laurent (December 24, 2018). "An Artist's Guide to the Best in Berlin, Basel and Beyond in 2018". Frieze. Archived from the original on May 24, 2025. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  53. ↑ Kurz, Veit Laurent (April 2024). "Scattered Impressions from an Archive". In Carlier, Loucia; Reymond, Alicia; Scali Ringwald, Antonine (eds.). Klima #06 – Mutabilities. Les Presses du réel. pp. 84–88. Archived from the original on August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  54. ↑ Veit Laurent Kurz receives the 42nd Matteo Olivero Award:
  55. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz | Winner of the Fourth Edition of the Prize". Milan: Battaglia Art Foundry. 2019. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
  56. ↑ "Veit Laurent Kurz". Stockholm: Bukowskis. September 25, 2024. Archived from the original on October 16, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
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