Manuela Karin Knaut’s painterly work is a reflection of her deep fascination with movement, transformation, and the raw energy of the spaces she encounters. Her art is not only an expression of her personal journey but also an immersive dialogue with the places she visits and the stories embedded within them. Traveling extensively, she embraces the unknown, allowing new environments to shape her perspective and artistic practice.

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The often harsh reality of the streets of Johannesburg, where layers of history and contemporary struggles coexist, has left a profound impact on her. The seemingly chaotic yet vibrantly pulsating life in the townships, where resilience and creativity emerge in unexpected ways, challenges conventional aesthetic norms and inspires her compositions. Similarly, the narrow, colorful alleys of Accra, where textures and patterns tell the story of a culture in constant flux, provide her with an inexhaustible source of visual and emotional stimuli.

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In Brooklyn, she finds inspiration in the unpolished urban landscape—the graffiti-covered walls, the traces of past interventions, and the spontaneous artistic expressions of street artists who transform decay into beauty. These elements of imperfection, of transience, and of layered narratives resonate deeply with Knaut’s artistic philosophy. She seeks out the overlooked and the forgotten, turning them into focal points in her work, emphasizing the poetic nature of impermanence.