Artist Profile: Felix Müller Stolz

58A: You work in a creative collective, QRRR. Didn’t you guys recently change the name?

Felix Müller Stolz: We’re now called SO82. This came about during Wiesbaden Design Week, when we got Sarah and Peer on board. It was all about showing that the borough of Sonnenberg has some creative people with cool projects to offer, not just pensioners and moms in SUVs... ;)

?58 A: How cool is sharing a workspace with a number of different creatives?

Felix Müller Stolz: Sharing a space with other creatives means to be surrounded by people who all share the same mission – the same SPIRIT, if you will. It’s extremely motivating to me, since I tend to get caught up in my ideas and lose sight of my goals at times in the process. On the other hand, it’s pretty easy to get distracted, since creatives are, as is widely known, a rather fun cast of people, which can create some conflicts when the time for deadlines rolls around. So you’ll either need good headphones or very strong discipline – as for me, I have headphones... ;)
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58 A: You’re known to enjoy drawing without a computer. What’s the attraction?

Felix Müller Stolz: Just last weekend I had one of these conversations where someone says: “So, you paint on your computer!” As if that would take care of all the fundamentals for you. For me, every single illustration starts with a sketch. I’m really the typo of guy to use pencils. There’s nothing for immediate, if you ask me. So I always have a pen on me wherever I go, and you can find paper pretty much everywhere. But I also have great respect for painting. Seen from that perspective, computers really opened the world of colors to me. And sometimes I’ll go to the Frankfurt Zoo to draw the animals with a colleague of mine. I love it. Just pen, paper – and lots and lots of monkeys. I could really do that all day. :)

58A: What if you had to choose between painting pictures and surfing?

Felix Müller Stolz: That’s a tough question. Since I have to drive for four hours to go surfing in the kinds of conditions someone from Australia wouldn’t even put their beer glass down for, I should probably go with “surfing” right away.
Everyone around here who picked this blessed “hobby” probably knows what it’s like. During your day-to-day operations, you’re permanently asking yourself: “When can I go surfing the next time?” But as find out during my two year experience where I could have gone surfing nearby pretty much every single day – it wouldn’t keep me happy in the long run. That’s why the pen has to remain my first and greatest love.

58A: People say that painting and music go hand-in-hand. What’s your take?

Felix Müller Stolz: Is that right? That almost sounds like talking about the connection between air and water. But air is always surrounded by other elements, naturally. I think that music is ultimately the best way to send your soul on a journey to help it get acquainted to new people. This phenomenon also holds true for art, but you need more finely trained receptors for that. Music is a much more universal medium, in that sense. What I love about music is that it can be experienced with a variety of different senses at the same time. At the end of the day, you could take everything away, but I would never ever give up music.

58A: Art and commercialization – at what point does it get whack?

Felix Müller Stolz: I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to be able to make money with my past-time passion at a very early stage – although I took some side roads initially. This may be due to the fact that everyone in my family who is involved in art does make their living that way, which also influenced my perspective, I think. For some time now, I’ve been considering what I do as a kind of service offering. You could say I’m as far removed from free-spirited art as a chicken farmer from high seas fishing. But it’s also important to see people out there showing the world that money and comfort aren’t worth a thing if that is the only motivation worth getting passionate about. But as soon as I get the feeling that someone is only doing his paintings because it’s lucrative for him, I lose interest in his art pretty quickly.

58A: You’re one of the very first artists contributing to our 58 ARTBANG initiative. What attracted you to the project?

Felix Müller Stolz: It provides Henrik and I with an excuse to have lunch over in Frankurt! But seriously, I feel really honored since I respect all of the people involved in it. I’m actually really happy right now with all the things happening around me. Everywhere there are connections between people that have already known one another for a long time, but now all of a sudden are engaged in projects together. That’s real joy to watch! I hope this continues!

58ARTBANG: Speaking of lunch: What’s your choice – sushi or beet carpaccio with goat cheese?
Felix Müller Stolz: Carpaccio all day!!!

58A: Aside from world peace, what’s your greatest wish right now?

Felix Müller Stolz: Yeah, you don’t have to reach that far. I think that what I just mentioned, working together with people on joint projects is already a huge step in that direction. I think it’s a shame that people are shutting themselves off from each other so much and are afraid to share with others or reveal too much about themselves. You’ll see it in art, music and all of life in between. I think it’s all about reminding yourself that ultimately, we’re all in the same boat – yuppies, hipsters or the guy from the corner store. Everyone in the same city, the same country. Those are the best conditions for getting a huge party started!

58A: Let’s talk about material things – what’s your next big purchase going to be?

Felix Müller Stolz: Yesterday, this device arrived on my desk that will make my digital drawing tablet obsolete. That’s really all I need for right now! ;)

Website:  www.fealiks.com