Interview: Jean-Pierre Kunkel
Luca Curci talks with Jean-Pierre Kunkel for the WINNER of the ARTIST OF THE MONTH – AUGUST 2024.

Jean-Pierre Kunkel, born in Lievin, France in 1950, became enthusiastic about artistic creation at an early age. Growing up in southern Germany, he went to Munich and Hamburg to study free painting, where photorealism emerged as a formative style. In the course of his creative development, Jean-Pierre Kunkel acquired an extensive range of techniques, from airbrush to photography, image editing, illustration, watercolor and oil on canvas to the symbiosis of all types of design. This was followed by stays in the artistic metropolises of Paris and New York, where in 1978 he assisted the French advertising photographer and art activist Jean-Paul Goude with the illustration of his internationally renowned illustrated book Jungle Fever. That time greatly influenced Jean-Pierre Kunkel’s photorealistic way of working which he perfected on the auto didactical basis later on.

The native of Hamburg also made a name for himself beyond Germany as a freelance illustrator for advertising and magazines. Internationally discussed, the Spiegel title The Bush Warriors (2002 / 2008). Kunkel’s works are based on photographs that are individually created and combined depending on the intended message. Each work is subject to a special aesthetic requirement, the basis of which is the digital composition of precisely fitting visual elements. The motifs optimized in this way unfold their engaging and extraordinary effect when translated into oil on canvas. Jean-Pierre Kunkel is particularly interested in idealization. Like his teacher Goude, he also approaches his own idea of perfect aesthetics through art. In this sense, photorealism is both a stylistic device and a technique. Jean-Pierre Kunkel’s current work encompasses four thematic areas that he alternately focuses on: Sea, Pool, Icons, and Advertising Pop-Art.

Luca Curci – What is art for you?
Jean-Pierre Kunkel – Art gives me the opportunity to realize myself and to continue to develop through my variety of topics.

LC – What are you currently working on?
J-PK – I always work on pictures on the topics of pools, waves, advertising pop art and I’m currently also working on abstract motifs.

LC – Among the several techniques you use, which one do you prefer to practice and which are most compelling for you?
J-PK – My preferred technique is photorealism, executed either in oil on canvas, acrylic on canvas or airbrush technique. For me, all techniques are equally important when implementing photorealism and are based on the requirements of the subject.

LC – What do you think about art on social media? Are they turning into the new showcases of contemporary art?
J-PK – The new media are already the most important showcase for artists to generate high international visibility. However, this only works if you have mastered the use of social media and can use it optimally.

LC – What issues do you intend to deal with in the future?
J-PK – In the future, I plan to further develop my existing works into editions with serial unique pieces.