The hybrid world of Linus Cuno

Biography

Linus Cuno was born in 1992 in Munich, Germany. While studying theology in Berlin for four years, he taught himself to paint and produce music, which led him to interrupt his studies in order to dive deeper into the various forms of artistic expression. In December 2019, he released his first studio album “The Art of Life“, a pop-soul effort that showcased a glimpse into the artist‘s aesthetic both in musical and in visual terms. When the world shut down due to the pandemic shortly after, Linus Cuno increasingly focused on developing his painting style. While being known to the stage as a performer of his original songs, 2022 marks the year of his first hybrid event between concert and exhibition, where he presented his large-format paintings in combination with a musical performance of their associated songs.

Linus Cuno photographed by Bella Groller Photography

About

Linus Cuno has been passionate about artistic expression in all its forms early on in his life. As a multifaceted creator, Linus Cuno covers everything from painting, song writing and performance, video production and graphic design. His mission is to fuse these different art forms into one multidimensional artwork: Most of his paintings come along with a song and vice versa. Over the years, Linus Cuno increasingly focused on political topics, as can be seen in his recent paintings/songs like “Stop The War!“, “Hector Pieterson“, “Rukan“ or “Mahsa“, all reinterpreting photographs that depicted victims of social injustice, war and gun violence across the globe.“ In a society controlled by fast-paced social-media posts, where people easily su spect each other of dubious opinions based on their own interpretation of their respective environment, I believe that art has the power to teach us once again tolook closer. A painting, a concert, a play might not only be inspiring, they also open our minds for the different, the new and for what is hidden beyond the obvious. At best, they might even irritate or disrupt our perception of the world. I‘m hoping my work can be a part of that contribution.

Mahsa, 2022
Mixed media on paper, 100 x 110 cm

Jina Mahsa Amini quickly became the symbolic figure of the ongoing protests in Iran after she died in the aftermath of her violent detention from the Iranian police, who blamed her of not wearing the hijab properly in public. While the lower red bar of the Iranian flag historically signify courage and the blood that was shed in the battle, it felt just right to paint the protesting women in that co-lour, as their violently opposed fight for life and freedom is an example of remarkable courage to the world.

These larger than life portraits show scenes from the documentary “Das Volk eines Engels“, which tells the story of a yazidi family who was brutally attacked and terrorized by ISIS in Syria along with their village in 2014. “Rukan‘s Lullaby“, the song that is related to the painting, is still in production butcan be heard at Linus Cuno‘s live concerts.

Rukan, 2021
Mixed media on paper, 150 x 200 cm

Stop the war!, 2022
Mixed media on paper, 150 x 180 cm

The painting is part of Linus Cuno‘s series “Ain‘t Nothing To Win Here“, that challenges gun violence in various contexts in both an artistic and a musical approach. Linus Cuno wrote his song “Stop the War!“ in the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and his painting of the same name served as its cover artwork. The painting is a collage of multiple faces of the war, photographs that were published in different online magazines. Both the song and the painting are an attempt of the artist to help amplify the victim‘s voices in an artistic way. Click here to listen to the song.

The Art Of Life“ was the final song Linus Cuno wrote for his debut album of the same name and followed a prolonged season of self-discovery and self-reflection. Feeling the need to find an outlet for his ongoing emotional conflicts and struggles, the artist created some of his most personal works to date: “The Art Of Life“ is a multidimensional effort consisting of a painting, a song and a music video: click here to watch the video.

The Art of Life, 2020
Mixed media on paper, 150 x 220 cm

Hector, 2022
Mixed media on paper, 180 x 150 cm

Hector Pieterson was a twelve year old boy who was shot dead at his school by white police men in the wake of the Soweto Uprising in South Africa in 1976. The photo was shot by Sam Nzima and was featured in multiple news magazines all across the world. The painting process inspired Linus Cuno to take on a cover version of Marvin Gaye‘s classic “What‘s Going On“ in addition to the painting. The music video was produced by the artist himself and features various details of the painting. Click here to watch.

Get in touch
with Linus:

www.lvaufsess.myportfolio.com
Instagram: @linuscuno

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