Painter and graphic artist Karin Kneffel has been selected to receive this year's Art and Culture Prize of German Catholics, the highest honor awarded by the Catholic Church in the cultural sphere. The prestigious award, which comes with a prize of 25,000 euros (approximately $27,000), will be presented to her on October 29, 2025, at the Kolumba Museum in Cologne.
The jury praised the technical perfection of the artist, who was born in Marl in 1957. They were particularly fascinated by her photorealistic paintings and their uniquely fragmented viewer perspectives, in which symbolism and realism, iconography and surface, art and life come together in both surprising and captivating ways. According to the jury, Kneffel gives her numerous animal portraits a disturbing gaze that seems to ask viewers how the world is faring as our common home.
Regarding her latest painting cycle titled "Face of a Woman, Head of a Child," the jury commended Kneffel for taking up the Christian iconography of Mary with the Christ child while simultaneously breaking away from it. Her representation shows its own dignity, as Mary and Jesus appear very present and very approachable while remaining incognito. The jury emphasized that Kneffel serves as a guarantor that visual art remains sensual, highlighting that her art is physical and authentic in an age of artificial intelligence and social media.
The Art and Culture Prize has been awarded since 1990 by the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) to outstanding artists in order to promote encounters between the Church and modern culture. Karin Kneffel follows in the footsteps of previous recipients including dancer and choreographer Lia Rodrigues (2021) and architect Peter Zumthor (2011).
