Julian Felix Kirchner

Born in 1983 in Schweinfurt, Germany, Julian Felix Kirchner studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 2003 to 2010 under Martin Gostner. He now lives and works in Cologne. Over the past years, he has presented his work in numerous exhibitions, including solo shows such as On Top of the Number Row (Cologne, 2024) and Amalgam (Kunstverein Schweinfurt, 2025). 

Since 2019, Kirchner has been experimenting with large-scale woodcuts, which he prints by hand. His practice centers on the lost plate technique, a demanding process in which a single woodblock is successively carved and printed in multiple layers, each new stage erasing what came before. Rather than masking the resistance of the material, Kirchner highlights the tactile grain and the physical traces of carving. He applies the pigment with a painterly sensibility, producing small editions in which every print possesses its own distinct character. Through this approach, he expands the expressive potential of the woodcut technique.

The imagery in Kirchner’s work is varied, layered, and often enigmatic. His compositions oscillate between figuration and abstraction. Through the tensions between line and motion, surface and depth, legibility and mystery, Kirchner constructs visual spaces that invite contemplation rather than conclusion.