ARMIN MUELLER-STAHL REFLECTS ON HIS LIFE'S WORK

He is considered one of the most outstanding actors of his generation – and for several years now, he has been surprising the public with an equally impressive artistic oeuvre. In his latest artist's book, Armin Mueller-Stahl reflects on his stage and film roles in expressive images. 

New Artist’s Book: Self in Films, Colors, and Shapes

The new book Self in Films, Colors, and Shapes / Selbst in Filmen, Farben und Formen brings together a new series of works on paper and canvas in which Armin Mueller-Stahl encounters his own roles – on stage and in film. He brings his most famous film and theater characters to life in a creative condensation – not as re-enactments, but as independent, painterly reflections of figures, characters, or silhouettes. 

This illustrated book shows the artist as a storyteller with paintbrush and colors, reexamining himself, his roles, and the effect of representation. This group of works, which has emerged over the past five years, offers an intense, painterly retrospective of an outstanding acting career. In the book, Armin Mueller-Stahl's artworks interact with selected film stills showing him in iconic roles.

The world-famous star, who always emphasized that he was merely a skilled craftsman of acting, has found another powerful language in painting, after music. With Self in Films, Colors and Shapes, Mueller-Stahl adds a very personal, retrospective dimension to his work and underscores his status as a great painter and storyteller.

International Career:  From Fassbinder to Hollywood

Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 1930) is one of the outstanding personalities of German and international film. One of the most popular actors in the GDR, he left the country in 1980, made films in the West with Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Lola), among others, and was also celebrated in Hollywood from 1989 onwards – in films by Barry Levinson (Avalon), Jim Jarmusch (Night on Earth), Steven Soderbergh (Kafka), and Volker Schlöndorff (The Ogre).

More Artist's Books by Armin Mueller-Stahl published at Hatje Cantz

This title complements the wonderful books that Armin Mueller-Stahl has published with Hatje Cantz in recent years: 

• Jewish Friends / Jüdische Freunde (ISBN 978-3-7757-5183-4)
• Rockets to the Moon / Bumskanone, Rasselsäbel und Krachgewehr  (ISBN  978-3-7757-4724-0 / 978-3-7757-4723-3)
• Der wien Vogel fliegen kann (ISBN 978-3-7757-4492-8)
• The Blue Cow / Die blaue Kuh (ISBN 978-3-7757-4255-9 / 978-3-7757-4250-4)