Clifton Boulder Gallery has had the good fortune, through Ulrich Gorsboth, to become acquainted with the work of the German artist Hans Kindt (✝︎ 1984).

Hans Kindt led a remarkable life. A volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, spent much of World War II in a concentration camp, worked for many years as a seaman and, in the final chapter of his life, he devoted himself fully to painting. Partly self-taught, partly trained at a Volkshochschule, Kindt painted with a depth that speaks directly to the viewer — as if each brushstroke rose from the core of his being.

During his travels to South America in the late 1970s, he captured the people and landscapes he encountered in vivid colours. His portraits, however, show a more poetic side — such as the one of his wife, painted after her death, or his seemingly simple yet striking self-portrait.

Hans Kindt passed away in 1984, shortly after completing a final painting — a quiet farewell to life.
Hans Kindt had crossed his bridge.