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Between memory and dream: images unfolding across photography, digital media, and painting

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kb@goldencalb.de

Karnstein Art
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About

The roots of my artistic biography lie in the dark; more precisely in a self-built darkroom in which I experimented with photography using an (analogue) Nikon-FM2 and a B-W laboratory from the 1980s. Studying art history in Berlin and Paris was accompanied by a constant interest in the history of photography and the photographic capture of my own observations and biographical milestones. The new technical possibilities now give me the opportunity to go beyond traditional photography and find another level in post-photographic technics, behind photographic reality, the unconscious, the surreal, which lies hidden above all in the grey areas of black and white. The subject is always the Conditio Humana at its core. Archetypal images occupy me as much as the question of which themes from classical art history can be combined with contemporary digital possibilities of photo art and reflected in the unconscious of AI-generated images.

***

Die Wurzeln meiner künstlerischen Biographie liegen im Dunkeln; genauer in einer selbstgebauten Dunkelkammer, in der ich mit einer (analogen) Nikon-FM2 sowie einem S-W-Labor aus den 80er Jahren mit Fotografie experimentiert habe. Ein Kunstgeschichtsstudium in Berlin und Paris wurde begleitet vom steten Interesse an der Geschichte der Fotografie sowie mit dem fotografischen Einfangen eigener Beobachtungen und biographischer Stationen. Die mediale Revolution unserer Zeit und die neuen digitalen Möglichkeiten ebnen den Weg, über die traditionelle Fotografie hinausgehen und eine weitere Dimension mit post-fotografischen Techniken finden zu können. So kann man das Unbewusste, das Märchenhafte, das Surreale freilegen, das für mich vor allem in den Grauzonen des Schwarz-Weiß verborgen liegt. Thema meiner Arbeiten ist immer die Conditio Humana im Kern. Archetypische Bilder und Mythen beschäftigen mich ebenso wie die Frage, welche Motive der klassischen Kunstgeschichte sich mit zeitgenössischen digitalen Möglichkeiten der Bildgestaltung kombinieren und generell im Unbewussten von AI-generierten und digital manipulierten Bildern finden lassen.



 

Blue Girl

Substance

Danse macabre

Sad Bat

King Minos in the Labyrinth of lost souls (Ithaka)

Instagram

Leader of the Pack #wolves #photoart #surrealart #leaderofthepack #postphotography
Leader of the Pack #wolves #photoart #surrealart #leaderofthepack #postphotography
Leader of the Pack #wolves #photoart #surrealart #leaderofthepack #postphotography
Leader of the Pack #wolves #photoart #surrealart #leaderofthepack #postphotography
Leader of the Pack #wolves #photoart #surrealart #leaderofthepack #postphotography
Leader of the Pack #wolves #photoart #surrealart #leaderofthepack #postphotography
Leader of the Pack #wolves #photoart #surrealart #leaderofthepack #postphotography
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Leader of the Pack #wolves #photoart #surrealart #leaderofthepack #postphotography
2 Tagen ago
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1/9
Mrs. Sandman 🌓⏳#time #hypnotic #photoart #postphotography #blackandwhite
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Mrs. Sandman 🌓⏳#time #hypnotic #photoart #postphotography #blackandwhite
3 Tagen ago
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2/9
Abrakadabra Simsalabim (Incantation) #spellbound #backandwhitephotography #photoart #surrealart #witchcraft
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Abrakadabra Simsalabim (Incantation) #spellbound #backandwhitephotography #photoart #surrealart #witchcraft
1 Woche ago
View on Instagram |
3/9
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆) Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights. Nothing more—nothing less. What follows is a mirror: one that does not soften the shadows. The boundary thins, and the dark inside answers the dark outside. Old shapes reappear. Not kindly, not cruelly— simply present. The kind of presence you cannot outgrow. The light you set is not an invitation but a line you draw: a way to see how close the past stands when you stop looking away. Obon offers no comfort. It is a brief clarity— a reminder that what returns is never only the dead. Some of it is you. #japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆) Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights. Nothing more—nothing less. What follows is a mirror: one that does not soften the shadows. The boundary thins, and the dark inside answers the dark outside. Old shapes reappear. Not kindly, not cruelly— simply present. The kind of presence you cannot outgrow. The light you set is not an invitation but a line you draw: a way to see how close the past stands when you stop looking away. Obon offers no comfort. It is a brief clarity— a reminder that what returns is never only the dead. Some of it is you. #japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆) Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights. Nothing more—nothing less. What follows is a mirror: one that does not soften the shadows. The boundary thins, and the dark inside answers the dark outside. Old shapes reappear. Not kindly, not cruelly— simply present. The kind of presence you cannot outgrow. The light you set is not an invitation but a line you draw: a way to see how close the past stands when you stop looking away. Obon offers no comfort. It is a brief clarity— a reminder that what returns is never only the dead. Some of it is you. #japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆) Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights. Nothing more—nothing less. What follows is a mirror: one that does not soften the shadows. The boundary thins, and the dark inside answers the dark outside. Old shapes reappear. Not kindly, not cruelly— simply present. The kind of presence you cannot outgrow. The light you set is not an invitation but a line you draw: a way to see how close the past stands when you stop looking away. Obon offers no comfort. It is a brief clarity— a reminder that what returns is never only the dead. Some of it is you. #japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆)

Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights.
Nothing more—nothing less.

What follows is a mirror:
one that does not soften the shadows.
The boundary thins,
and the dark inside answers the dark outside.

Old shapes reappear.
Not kindly, not cruelly—
simply present.
The kind of presence you cannot outgrow.

The light you set is not an invitation
but a line you draw:
a way to see how close the past stands
when you stop looking away.

Obon offers no comfort.
It is a brief clarity—
a reminder that what returns
is never only the dead.
Some of it is you.
#japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
•
Follow
MEET THE ANCESTORES - OR OBON (盆) Obon -a Japanese ritual in which the dead return for a few nights. Nothing more—nothing less. What follows is a mirror: one that does not soften the shadows. The boundary thins, and the dark inside answers the dark outside. Old shapes reappear. Not kindly, not cruelly— simply present. The kind of presence you cannot outgrow. The light you set is not an invitation but a line you draw: a way to see how close the past stands when you stop looking away. Obon offers no comfort. It is a brief clarity— a reminder that what returns is never only the dead. Some of it is you. #japan #blackandwhitephotography #promptart #photoart #myth
2 Wochen ago
View on Instagram |
4/9
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
•
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Can you feel the sun? 🌞 - Berlin -4 degrees #photoart #winteriscomming❄️ #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #promptart
2 Wochen ago
View on Instagram |
5/9
#cat #photoart #animal #surrealphotography #promptart
•
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#cat #photoart #animal #surrealphotography #promptart
2 Wochen ago
View on Instagram |
6/9
Inner Demons Demons do not vanish when driven away. They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look. Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature: among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune — a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it. Perhaps that is the essential motion: not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes. Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self. The worst demons are always the ones whose wings we hear inside us, whose rustling knocks against the heart. #bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
Inner Demons 
Demons do not vanish when driven away.
They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look.
Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature:
among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune —
a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it.
Perhaps that is the essential motion:
not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night
until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes.
Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self.
The worst demons are always the ones
whose wings we hear inside us,
whose rustling knocks against the heart.
#bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
•
Follow
Inner Demons Demons do not vanish when driven away. They merely retreat into those regions where the mind prefers not to look. Across mythic traditions the bat appears as a threshold-creature: among the Maya a guardian between life and death, in China an emblem of fortune — a being that does not fear the dark, but reads it. Perhaps that is the essential motion: not evasion, not appeasement, but a passage through the night until one can again tell one’s own voice from its echoes. Murnau in Nosferatu understood the uncanny as a shadow cast from within. Dr Jekyll learned that the monster has no address but the self. The worst demons are always the ones whose wings we hear inside us, whose rustling knocks against the heart. #bat #promptart #blackandwhitephotography #1920s #photoart
2 Wochen ago
View on Instagram |
7/9
„Roman Discipline“ 

#cross #criminallaw #photoart #artwork #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #church #sanctus
•
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„Roman Discipline“ #cross #criminallaw #photoart #artwork #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #church #sanctus
3 Wochen ago
View on Instagram |
8/9
The Chess♟️Trainer #checkmate♟️ #chesstrainer #blackandwhite #artwork #promptart #edgarallanpoe #crow #raven #promptart #photoart
•
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The Chess♟️Trainer #checkmate♟️ #chesstrainer #blackandwhite #artwork #promptart #edgarallanpoe #crow #raven #promptart #photoart
4 Wochen ago
View on Instagram |
9/9
View on Instagram

Karnstein Art

E-Mail: kb@goldencalb.de

Gallery Representation in Berlin: Galerie Mond Fine Arts: https://galeriemond.de/artist/kiki-karnstein/

© Kiki Karnstein 2025

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