Kiva II

Karl Repfennig

By 1988 Karl Repfennig, who was born in Germany but received his formal art education in the United States, was living once more in his homeland. Having established himself as an artist as well as a show curator over the decade since his return, he was approached by a representative of the Holzminden government, Thomas Veil, to help form an artists’ cooperative in the newly renovated Bevern Castle. Refennig agreed to the terms and relocated to the space, opening a studio that not only functioned as a workspace for himself but as a venue for artists, writers, musicians, and more.

While transitioning to this new life, Repfennig still made time for art. In 1988, the same year as the relocation of his studio, he created a series of woodcuts in the Naive fashion, taking inspiration from his time traveling through the southwestern United States and the homes of the indigenous Puebloans called “kivas”. The cycle of life, including birth, spiritualism and ritual, and death, all play parts in the series. Symbols of primitive and modern origin are found in the depictions of clocks, colonial churches, arrows, rivers, and the repeat patterns found in Pueblo arts all play a part in his imagery.