#25 art talk – Cone The Weird

Cone The Weird

Cone The Weird is one of the most prominent figures in the contemporary urban art scene in Germany. Born in Munich in 1979, Cone The Weird, a.k.a. Colin Kaesekamp, developed an early interest in graffiti, comics and the visual arts. This interface between street and studio gave rise to his very own, unmistakable style: surreal, ironic, technically precise – and always with a touch of the unfathomable. In his first solo exhibition since 2017, entitled SAMPLES, Cone The Weird is showing works on paper, canvas and a mural. The exhibition can be seen until 29 June at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Saarlouis.

Photo Credits:

1, 2, 7📸 by Leonie Stark @leoniesinas for @institut_aktuelle_kunst
3.,6,8,9,10,11 Cone The Weird @conetheweird
4, 12 VF @arttrailervf

Artist portrait: Cone The Weird – The surreal world of Colin Kaesekamp

Name: Colin Kaesekamp
Artist name: Cone The Weird
Year of birth: 1979
Place of birth: Munich
Place of residence: Saarbrücken
Collective: The Weird

An artist between worlds

Colin Kaesekamp, better known under his pseudonym Cone The Weird, is one of the outstanding figures of the contemporary urban art scene in Germany. Born in Munich in 1979, Cone developed an interest in graffiti, comics and the visual arts at an early age. This interface between street and studio gave rise to his very own, unmistakable style: surreal, ironic, technically precise – and always with a touch of the abysmal.

Style and themes

Cone The Weird is a storyteller. His works – whether murals, illustrations or canvases – often depict bizarre, caricature-like figures in absurd yet profound scenarios. His style is characterized by a strong graphic line, vivid colour contrasts and a surreal visual language reminiscent of comics, dystopias and dreamscapes.

Thematically, Cone oscillates between social criticism, black humor and introspective symbolism. His works raise questions about identity, masking, urbanity and alienation – often packaged in grotesque figures with animal or mechanical attributes.

The Weird – a collective with cult status

Cone is a founding member of the renowned artist collective The Weird, which consists of a group of illustrative urban artists from Germany and Austria. Its members include artists such as Low Bros, DXTR, Nychos and Look. Together, they combine a detailed aesthetic with street art roots and a penchant for the bizarre.

Cone plays a special role within the collective: his clear contours and narrative imagery stand out without detaching themselves from the collective style structure. This often results in large-format wall works in which each artist brings their individual signature to a collective whole.

Exhibitions and works

Cone The Weird has exhibited internationally and his murals adorn walls in numerous European cities, including Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna and Barcelona. In addition to his work in public spaces, Cone is also present in galleries – be it with mixed media works, drawings or limited edition art prints.

He also works as an illustrator and graphic designer. His commissioned work includes album covers, festival posters and book illustrations – always with his distinctive, surreal signature.

Conclusion

Colin Kaesekamp, alias Cone The Weird, exemplifies a generation of urban artists who have taken graffiti and street art out of the subculture and into the canon of contemporary art. With a fine line, sharp-witted humor and a keen sense of composition, he creates worlds in which the absurd is everyday life – and everyday life is absurd. His art is an invitation to marvel, pause and question – in the midst of urban frenzy.

Further links

Website of Cone The Weird: https://www.conetheweird.de/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conetheweird/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theweirdcone/

Read the entire interview with Cone the Weird

Verena Feldbausch: We talk about art at art talk, the art podcast from SaarLorLux. We meet curators and artists where they are currently exhibiting. Discover contemporary art and extraordinary art spaces in our region with us. Be part of gallery talks, exhibition openings and finissages.

You can listen to art talk wherever there are podcasts.

Hello and welcome to a new episode of art talk. We are in Saarlouis today, at the Institute for Contemporary Art and we are looking forward to the exhibition by Cone The Weird. The exhibition is entitled Samples. We’ll find out exactly what it means in a moment. I hope you enjoy listening to it. Your Verena Feldbausch.

I am very pleased to welcome Colin Kaesekamp. Hello Colin.

Colin Kaesekamp: Hello.

The Artist Name “Cone The Weird”

Verena Feldbausch: Your stage name is “Cone the Weird”. How did this come about?

Colin Kaesekamp: “Cone” is actually my sprayer name, which I’ve been using since I started spraying at 13 in ’93. As you change, you might think about a name change, but that didn’t happen. “The Weird” is the name of an artist collective of which I am one of ten members.

I fused it together as an artist’s name because Cone is relatively generic. Searching for “Cone and Graffiti” brings up other Cones, or even ice cream or joints in image searches. “Cone the Weird” is clear and specific.

Verena Feldbausch: Yes, very nice.

The Title “Samples”

Verena Feldbausch: Your exhibition is called “Samples”. This means “specimens, examples”. How would you translate it?

Colin Kaesekamp: As a music lover, I refer to “samples” from music, especially hip-hop culture, where pieces from existing tracks are taken, altered, or reused to create something new. I apply this principle in my work.

Andreas Bayer from the institute came up with the name. It’s plausible, short, crisp, and to the point.

Verena Feldbausch: Nice. This is your first solo exhibition since 2017 at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Saarlouis.

The Works of the Exhibition

Verena Feldbausch: We see drawings on paper, canvas, and a mural. What’s the focus? Shall we start with the mural?

Colin Kaesekamp: The mural is a collection of recurring elements in my work. Coming from graffiti culture, I also work in design and illustration. It features elements from various pictures in this room, spanning different years.

The exhibition came at the Institute’s request to include my work in their archive, which is an honor. For artists with my background, being represented in such institutions is unusual.

The mural, placed at the entrance, is an eye-catcher. I used a selection of samples in a drawing technique with reduced colors, just one color on the wall instead of paper or canvas.

Verena Feldbausch: A hint: you can find photos of all the works we discuss in my blog, art talk SaarLorLux.

The Visual Universe

Verena Feldbausch: Let’s move to your early works. Your visual universe features figures. I’m thinking of your 2017 mural in Saarbrücken’s Urban Art Parcours, with lines, hatchings, and details, typically in black on dark gray with some silver stripes.

Colin Kaesekamp: White stripes, actually.

Verena Feldbausch: Similar to these two canvases here. Are they from that time?

Colin Kaesekamp: Yes, one was made a year later.

Fascination with the Figurative

Verena Feldbausch: What fascinates you about the figurative?

Colin Kaesekamp: My interest in the figurative predates graffiti. As a child, I loved illustrated books and comics, especially since I couldn’t read yet. My father’s books on ancient civilizations, clothing, and architecture fascinated me.

I also remember post-war illustrated cards from butter packs, some with biblical motifs, others disturbing, like witch burnings. These left an impression. When I started graffiti, I was drawn to both lettering and figures.

I wasn’t a classic graffiti bomber focused on quantity. I wanted complex motifs that appealed to all—children, pensioners, regardless of graffiti knowledge. The figurative is universally readable.

In the early 2000s, street art emerged alongside graffiti, emphasizing figurative motifs. Signature characters, like tags, gained power through repetition, making them memorable.

Verena Feldbausch: I noticed your use of stamps, like Japanese artists do.

Influences and Inspirations

Colin Kaesekamp: Yes, I received stamps as gifts, including one with my name in Chinese characters from Hong Kong artists. I hesitate to use them, as I’m not from that culture, and it feels like an experiment in signing.

I don’t have a standardized signature. Sometimes I use graffiti tags, block letters, or stamps, like on these canvases.

Verena Feldbausch: Did you sign the mural?

Colin Kaesekamp: No, sometimes I don’t sign. I hope my work is distinctive enough to be recognized.

Verena Feldbausch: Definitely. Your unique visual language, reminiscent of comics and Mad magazine, blends graphic novels and graffiti. Which graphic novels inspire you today?

Comic and Graphic Novel Inspirations

Colin Kaesekamp: I find the graphic novel versus comic distinction silly. Both have terrific and poor examples, like all art. I’m active in graffiti and urban art, but also in broader art contexts.

Mad magazine, which I collected as a kid, left a mark. My father’s underground comics, like Robert Crumb’s, and heavy metal comics influenced me. Comic-like elements in video game culture inspire me too.

Graffiti often uses comic figures, either created or quoted. I admire Brecht Evens from Belgium, and classics like “Ghost World” and “Maus”.

Verena Feldbausch: We’ll link these in the show notes for listeners to explore.

Colin Kaesekamp: You’re welcome.

Graffiti Roots and Role Models

Verena Feldbausch: You started spraying at 13. That’s early!

Colin Kaesekamp: That’s right.

Verena Feldbausch: Were you caught often?

Colin Kaesekamp: Not for spraying, but for other mischief. I painted illegally, but sparingly, as my mother was liable. I was often dissatisfied with my motifs, which dampened the thrill.

I followed role models who produced high-quality legal work. I wasn’t suited for quick, complex illegal work. You prove something to yourself, not others.

Verena Feldbausch: Which graffiti artists do you admire?

Colin Kaesekamp: Growing up in Munich, I saw international artists like Loomit, a first-generation European sprayer who networked early, inviting artists to Munich’s old Riehm Airport, a mural hotspot in the early ‘90s.

Monto, another first-generation European, excelled in style writing and characters. I knew him through record covers and hip-hop jams, where graffiti complemented music and dance.

Brazilian brothers Os Gemeos are among the most successful graffiti artists. Also, One and Cowboy, especially One, earned early academic praise. Munich’s local and international scene was vibrant.

New Works and Future Perspectives

Verena Feldbausch: Let’s discuss the album covers.

Colin Kaesekamp: These are special, the only multicolored works here. They mark a shift from my black-and-white, character-focused gray series to fragmented, collage-like motifs.

This cover is the third in a trilogy for an instrumental hip-hop musician. I designed the second part, and he wanted the third to end with a bang, inspired by a voodoo priest’s ritual dance.

I reflected his music’s shift from samples to original compositions, with cosmic and planetary themes. The cover features a priest or medicine man, blending cultural elements like bomber jackets, South American masks, and Asian plants.

The back cover includes cosmic geometry, constellations, and ritual elements like the Peruvian sun gate, creating a backdrop for dreaming and discovering worlds.

Verena Feldbausch: Very nice, thank you for the detailed explanation.

Symbolism of Stairs

Verena Feldbausch: Stairs are a recurring theme, reminding me of MC Escher’s labyrinths. The exhibition’s invitation shows a ladder with broken steps. Prints are available for 120 euros. What’s your fascination with stairs?

Colin Kaesekamp: Stairs are one of my recurring symbols, carrying duality. They’re man-made yet inorganic, ambiguous in leading up or down, like in meditation techniques.

For the exhibition’s key motif, a ladder leans against a book, symbolizing entry to new worlds. Broken rungs represent life’s initial hurdles, offering growth potential despite uncertain outcomes.

Verena Feldbausch: Very nice. Sales must be soaring!

Colin Kaesekamp: I’m not complaining!

Color in Newer Works

Verena Feldbausch: Since 2020, color has entered your work. How did this happen?

Colin Kaesekamp: In the mid-2000s, I focused on black and white, stripping effects while working in film, design, and graffiti. I used black paint on light backgrounds, focusing on character design and composition.

This became my trademark, but after nearly 20 years, especially during the dull Corona years, I felt ready to explore color again, without abandoning my visual world.

Verena Feldbausch: Does color mean painting on colored surfaces or using colored ink?

Colin Kaesekamp: Both. Colored ink, used in comics and storyboarding, was an easy step. It avoids issues with gray pencil lines interfering with black ink during digital processing.

Verena Feldbausch: Okay.

Vases “Valentine I and II”

Verena Feldbausch: I noticed the vases “Valentine I and II” at the exhibition opening. How did they come about?

Colin Kaesekamp: Created a year apart for Paris exhibitions, both finished on February 14, they’re variations on classic still lifes with vases, plants, and fruit, exploring love and sexuality subtly.

The compositions use central perspective, with vases spilling plant-like objects, surrounded by fragments like eyes or halved bananas. This sampling principle creates variations, like a series.

Found Objects and Surrealism

Verena Feldbausch: Let’s talk about these newer works. What’s their foundation?

Colin Kaesekamp: These are found objects—delivery bills from freight trains, a nod to graffiti and train painting days.

Verena Feldbausch: I see a melted pistol and recurring elements, right?

Colin Kaesekamp: Yes, symbols like faceless alarm clocks and spaghetti-like arrows. Recent works feature sharp edges against organic forms, resembling comic panels, with delivery bills as a base.

Like Asian calligraphy papers, these works have a red signature stamp on the front and handwritten signatures on the back.

Diverse forms of artistic expression, such as graffiti and urban art, should be more widely recognized, just like jazz in music. Thank you for the interview and the invitation.

Verena Feldbausch: My pleasure. Find photos in my blog and details in the show notes. I hope you enjoyed this episode. See you next time, Verena Feldbausch.

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