Hartmut Kiewert

Hartmut Kiewert (born in 1980 in Koblenz) studied painting and graphic art at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle (Saale) from 2003 to 2010, graduating there in 2010 “with distinction”.

Since 2008, Kiewert has been exploring the social relationship between humans and animals. His paintings present counter-images to today’s treatment of non-human animals, which is characterised by exploitation and marginalisation. Pigs, cows and chickens are freed from factory farms and abattoirs and take over parks, shopping centres and streets. The animal industry has been dismantled, and humans and other animals meet on equal terms. The animal individuals enter the pictorial worlds as active agents, as subjects of their own lives, and as kin to humans, inviting viewers to rethink the hegemonic relationship characterised by objectification and domination.

In addition to numerous solo exhibitions, such as at the Zitadelle in Berlin or the Kubus Kunsthalle in Duisburg, Kiewert’s works have been featured in exhibitions including ‘Hello Nature. How do we want to live together?’, at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg; ‘Crazy About Meat’, at the Museum Brot und Kunst in Ulm; ‘Please, Come to the Table’ at the Museum Villa Rot; and ‘Animal Power!’ Motoro12 Gallery, Brussels, ‘Fantastic Animal Worlds’ at the Kunstmuseum Heidenheim, ‘FoodFuturesART’ at the Kunsthalle Faust, Hanover, ‘ArtGenossen – The Animal and Us’ at the Städtische Galerie Fähre, Bad Saulgau, and ‘ANIMAL LOVERS’ at the ngbk, Berlin.

Hartmut Kiewert lives and works in Leipzig. As a consistent vegan, he ensures that his art supplies, such as paints and brushes, do not contain any animal-derived ingredients. (Text: https://hartmutkiewert.de/about/