Claus Kilian

Claus Kilian 2007 (in the background: Judas kiss from a wall hanging with passion scenes)

Claus Kilian (born May 18, 1928 in Glogau ( Lower Silesia )) is a German visual artist and Catholic deacon .

Life

Claus Kilian was conscripted into the war at the age of 16 and came to Braunschweig as a refugee after being a prisoner of war in 1946 . Originally a commercial artist , he has been working as a freelance artist since 1960 almost exclusively for parishes and church institutions. Kilian has been married since 1953, has five children and 13 grandchildren. As a deacon ( ordained in 1975) he works in the Braunschweig Aegidiengemeinde .

Creation and work

Since the 1960s, he has artistically designed a large number of churches in the Diocese of Hildesheim and beyond, as well as numerous rest and prayer rooms in institutions such as prisons, hospitals and spa facilities. His work includes painting , mosaic , stained glass windows , metal and textile design . He takes themes and motifs primarily from the Bible and the legend of saints , often with reference to the patronage of the respective church. The aesthetic and illustrative aspect is used for interpretation and proclamation .

In recent years, Claus Kilian has been working more and more with pastels and oil chalks and using these to create “narrative images”, each of which tells its own story (secular and religious) or in which the viewer can “tell” and “think” stories . With these new, but also selected older works, Kilian designs exhibitions in retirement homes and educational institutions.

Stained glass wall made of hand-made real antique glass with the title: "Until you come in glory", for St. Bonifatius Church , Bad Bodenteich

Web links

Commons : Claus Kilian - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Literature by and about Claus Kilian in the catalog of the German National Library
Homepage
Brief portrait

Individual evidence

↑ Sabine Moser: His goal: to combine art and proclamation. In: KirchenZeitung - The week in the Diocese of Hildesheim , issue 35/2020 of August 30, 2020, p. 9.
↑ Christian Wiechel-Kramüller: churches, monasteries and chapels in the district of Uelzen . WIEKRA Edition, Bahn-Media Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Suhlendorf 2015, ISBN 978-3-940189-14-1 , p. 20 .

personal data
SURNAME	Kilian, Claus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German visual artist and Catholic deacon
DATE OF BIRTH	May 18, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH	Glogau ( Lower Silesia )

[1] Sabine Moser: His goal: to combine art and proclamation. In: KirchenZeitung - The week in the Diocese of Hildesheim , issue 35/2020 of August 30, 2020, p. 9.

[2] Christian Wiechel-Kramüller: churches, monasteries and chapels in the district of Uelzen . WIEKRA Edition, Bahn-Media Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Suhlendorf 2015, ISBN 978-3-940189-14-1 , p. 20 .