Stefan Moll was born in 1973. His childhood and youth in Bergisches Land were followed by studies in art history, political science and modern German literature after graduating from high school. Already in the course of his studies he established his first contacts with the art market. There, during various internships and as a freelancer in galleries in Cologne and Bonn, he acquired a wide range of experience and deep insights into the world of art and the art market.

Creativity requires courage

With the move to the Bad Godesberg district of Bonn, the first openings take place in the gallery’s own space, the Kunstkabinett. Art and society go different ways – from the beginning, Stefan Moll’s gallery program opposes the division of society into those who access the visual arts and those to whom these worlds remain closed. Art, artistic techniques, ways of expression and creative thinking have been removed from the curricula of state education for decades. In the meantime, they are regarded as a purely private matter. It is overlooked that especially in direct discourse about artistic works, diverse and sometimes even opposing perspectives can freely coexist non-hierarchically, instead of becoming entrenched in black-and-white grids. Artistic expression gives the courage to engage peacefully with the world. It has the potential to overcome social polarization.

One cannot be non-political!

Stefan Moll emphasizes. The arrival and upbringing of my two daughters, the everyday tasks that arise from this, the reconstruction of my own house, represent these constellations under the ever-changing events of every day life as the basic situation of my life. The Corona pandemic then gives the final impetus to pursue the long matured idea more intensely, to focus more on running my own gallery and to put a clear focus on street art and urban art. Beyond programmatic dogmatism, he closely observes the possibilities of intersections with other art movements as well as social change in general.

Pop Art, Graffiti, Street Art and Urban Art

One must be prepared for the fact that such great innovations will change the entire technique of the arts, thereby influencing the invention itself, and will eventually perhaps come to change the very concept of art in the most magical way (Paul Valéry). Questions about motifs and their reproduction, artistic activism and commercialism have characterized the discourse since the presentation of the first great works of Pop Art in the 1960s. In our present day, artists and those interested in art are driven by the question of who owns the public space. Developments in the graffiti scene, street art and urban art articulate its various aspects to raise awareness. The boundary between private and public space is increasingly disappearing in the foggy age of social media. Stefan Moll also sees these developments as an opportunity to bring art out of the closed circles of experts into the center of society.

The Candy Concept

It is time for inspiration, both in private and in public space. This is the impetus behind Stefan Moll’s latest idea: The Candy Concept. Accordingly, art should not be an elitist thing. The theme is freedom in its ubiquitous manifestations. Stefan Moll emphasizes his joyful and intellectual view on art as he looks forward to the opening of his new Cologne ‘candy store’ for art. Art that one quickly becomes aware of is far from superficial. He is concerned with recultivating a more passionate interest in art as far as the general public is concerned.

Creativity is intelligence having fun (Albert Einstein)

In the spirits of his humanistic worldview, Stefan Moll focuses on the creative sides of the human being – the concept of homo ludens – being completely at ease in play. Is art work? Art can also be work! People have no desire to be patronized, nor to be underchallenged by the banal. Stefan Moll concludes from this: You have to be allowed to like art!