Father Franz Konrad

Even as a student, Franz Konrad discovered his passion for art. He began to capture impressions from his surroundings in drawings, portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. Over six decades, as a self-taught artist, he developed an extensive body of work comprising over 800 pieces. In doing so, he combined fidelity to nature, imagination, and spirituality into a unique visual language.

From the late 1960s onwards, he increasingly turned to collages. From found objects, ecclesiastical writings, newspaper clippings, and photographs, he created complex visual worlds that are often abstract, humorous, and imaginative. The works radiate positive energy and bear witness to deep spirituality. During this period, he also cultivated contacts and collaborated with artists such as Giorgio Griffa, Richard Hartwell, and Herbert Bessel, whose works also became part of his collection.

In the 1970s, Father Franz Konrad experimented intensively with new techniques. Hand drawings in felt-tip pen emerged spontaneously and dynamically, sometimes grotesque, making the creative processes of his mind visible. In parallel, meticulously crafted pencil, colored pencil, and print works continued to emerge, impressing with their precision, richness of detail, and narrative depth. Some of his works, especially the colorful, dynamic compositions, recall Keith Haring in their expressive, almost pop-art-like visual language.

From the 1980s onwards, he further developed his colored pencil works. Expressive, vibrantly colored compositions, geometric forms, and abstract figures now characterized his main body of work. From the 1990s onwards, multi-layered compositions emerged, in which the most diverse motifs – faces, shapes, lines – are seemingly united on a single sheet, yet interact harmoniously.

His work is characterized by a joy of experimentation, originality, and deep spirituality. Humorous titles and personal notes on his creative process invite the viewer to understand his world of thought. Father Franz Konrad understood how to transform the everyday into art and to combine imagination, feeling, and form.

During his lifetime, his works were exhibited in Mainz, Berlin, Cornberg, Hünfeld, Bacharach, and on Pellworm. After his death, his estate was rediscovered: ink, pencil, and colored pencil drawings, collages, and print works bear witness to an exceptionally versatile artist, who has so far received little recognition in German post-war art.