Stephan Graf Bentzel-Sturmfeder – To the home page
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Stephan Graf Bentzel-Sturmfeder – artist and painter

01 — Statement

I do not paint to give answers. I create pictures that open up questions – about ourselves, our perception and how we want to shape the world.

02 — Portrait

Stephan Graf Bentzel-Sturmfeder in his studio

The works of Stephan Graf Bentzel-Sturmfeder arise from the tension between intuition and construction, freedom and form, abstraction and figuration. His painting is immediate and powerful, yet marked by great sensitivity. Colour is not simply applied – it flows, overlaps, is broken, dissolved or re-framed by striking lines.

The result is pictorial space of great dynamism: poetic and full of energy, sometimes fragile, then uncompromising again. Suggested bodies, portraits and abstract structures merge into a visual language that resists quick interpretation. The works do not demand a single reading. Rather, they invite viewers to develop their own relationship with the picture.

His art follows no decorative intention. It seeks friction, resonance and emotional depth.

03 — The creative process

The creative process

  1. Work in progress in the studio

    01

    Placing

    With intuitive certainty he guides the brush across the canvas. The first stroke is a decision.

  2. Work in progress in the studio

    02

    Flowing

    Thinned paint runs freely across the surface, sometimes stopped, sometimes left to itself.

  3. Work in progress in the studio

    03

    Dissolving

    What has emerged is dissolved again. Construction and destruction are not opposites; they depend on each other.

  4. Work in progress in the studio

    04

    Framing

    Hard, dark lines re-frame the pastel glazes. Out of tension comes harmony.

What happens in the studio is also the foundation of my work with leaders.

The Art of Becoming

04 — Biography

Biography

Born in Bamberg in 1973. More than three decades of intensive engagement with painting, art history and the creative process. Exhibitions in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Vienna and London, among others.

Education

  1. 2003Bachelor of Fine Arts, London Institute
  2. 2003Studies in Munich and London
  3. 2003Classical art training with Alexander Schwartz

Exhibitions

  1. 2025Exhibition, Foodpark, Baiersdorf
  2. 2023Private Studio Schloss Jägersburg, Bammersdorf
  3. 2023Collectors Event, Bammersorf
  4. 2022Project days, Almersdorf, Kirchdorf Hallertau
  5. 2019Galerie Gromann, Weßling
  6. 2018Schloss Pörnbach
  7. 2018Tragic Hero, Erlangen municipal utilities
  8. 2017Tragic Hero, Hearthouse München
  9. 2017Group exhibition Wawarta – Soler – Bentzel, Forchheim
  10. 2017Tragic Hero, PopUp Gallery Forchheim
  11. 2016Blood and Opium, München
  12. 2016Open Studio, Landkreis Forchheim
  13. 2016Group exhibition Kreul Colors, Hallerndorf
  14. 2015Galerie Box32, Friedrichshain, Berlin
  15. 2015International Art Colony, Počitelj, Bosnien und Herzegowina
  16. 2015National and international art exhibition, Jägersburg
  17. 2015Sturmfeder winery, artist label
  18. 2014Conzil, Galerie Weber, München
  19. 2014Group exhibition Longing, Mainzeit Carée, München
  20. 2014WienOne, Brick 5, Wien
  21. 2014Microturbine, München
  22. 2014Open Studio, Landkreis Forchheim
  23. 2013Galerie Robert Weber, München
  24. 2013Group exhibition StuttgartOne, Stuttgart
  25. 2013Zammerhof, Erding
  26. 2013Kao Ono, Neumarkter, München
  27. 2012Group exhibition “Bleiben ist nirgends” (Nowhere to stay), Jägersburg
  28. 2011Art auction, Weisser Ring, Nürnberg
  29. 2010Artothek Forchheim
  30. 2008Order of Malta, Galerie Reygers, München
  31. 2007Gerhard Mair, München
  32. 2001Group exhibition Paint Explosion, London
  33. 1998Group exhibition Blocherer Akademie, München
  34. 1995Schloss Thurn, Heroldsbach
  35. 1994Group exhibition, Sturmfeder winery

Art fairs

  1. 2019Parallel Vienna Art Fair, Wien
  2. 2016Parallel Vienna Art Fair, Wien
  3. 2014Parallel Vienna Art Fair, Wien

Curatorial projects

  1. 2017Founding of the Contemporary Art Gallery, Forchheim
  2. 2017Curation: Silvia Wawarta, Forchheim
  3. 2017Curation: Christina Soler, Forchheim
  4. 2010Curation: Philip Baben der Erde, München
  5. 2009Curation: Haman Alimardani, München
  6. 2009Curation: Sasha Schwartz, München
  7. 2009Founding of Sturmfeder Projects, München

05 — Voices

Voices

In his work and in his life he is aware that tragedy and heroism are inseparable. His thinking and his actions are always as radical as his personality.
T. Krause, 2017

06 — Projects

Projects

Herbie in the Bath

A bathtub, a skeleton called Herbie and a performance in front of the canvas: a homage to David’s “The Death of Marat”.

To the project “Herbie in the Bath”