Artist of the Month: Momoshi

This is the beginning of an exciting new column, where up-and-coming artists from the region will be interviewed by English Post every month! For the month of September, Momoshi is our featured artist. As some of you may already know he provided a painting to auction at our ENGLISH POST launch event, the proceeds of which he generously donated to finance that event. He embodies much of what English Post is about. On the one hand, he is international and cosmopolitan, on the other hand, he has been attached to Nuremberg and Germany for an awfully long time. For this interview, we met in Fürth, where he is currently completing a comprehensive artistic design for a hostel there. Besides this, Momoshi and I have a long-lasting friendship and have known each other for over 13 years now. Therefore, I am more than delighted to be portraying him as our first artist for this monthly series!

Date: 12/08/2020

Place: City Hostel Nürnberg-Fürth-Erlangen, Kurgartenstr. 54, 90762 Fürth

Lydia: Hi Peter, it is good to see you and thanks for taking the time for this interview. I decided to interview you in a non-traditional way by asking you 15 questions, both common and uncommon. I would also ask you to try to answer them as spontaneously as possible, please.

Momoshi: Okay, Lydia. Then, fire away!

Lydia: Okay, so let’s start, here is my first question for you:

1) Are you a night owl or an early bird?

 Momoshi: A night owl since I don’t need much sleep.

2) Lydia: Where do you get your inspiration for your art from?

Momoshi: From my muses, my travels, meeting interesting people, taking super long walks in big cities or in nature or at the beach.

© Momoshi

3) Lydia: Do you have any artistic role models?

Momoshi: Too many to count and list them all, but if I really must name some, then (this summer of 2020)  the painter: Baba Tjeko, the musician: Fatoumata Diawara, the poet: Charles Bukowski, and the comedian: Bill Hicks. 

4) Lydia: Do you get angry about criticism?

Momoshi: Naaaah, but it bothers me for a while if it’s justified.

5) Lydia: What are you proud of?

Momoshi: Right now, about the fact that I managed to shed some pounds during the pandemic, unlike my neighbours!

6) Lydia: Where would you like to be exhibited once in your lifetime?

Momoshi: I love Oscar Niemeyer’s Contemporary Art Museum in Niteroi, Brazil. But the building is already so spectacular from the outside that nobody would give a flying f**k about my exhibition inside, I guess.

7) Lydia: What is your favourite place and your favourite part of town in Nuremberg?

Momoshi: The Nuremberg castle area and the Wiesengrund, Weißgerbergasse and Klaragasse, also well as my hood in St. Johannis, where I live now.

 8) Lydia: What is your favourite dish?

Momoshi: A Hungarian dish called “Hortobágyi húsos palacsinta”. Something like a pancake with chicken and an incredible paprika sauce. The main reason not to turn 100% vegan.

9) Lydia: What do you always have at home in the fridge?

Momoshi: An alien in a jar and some organic rice drink.

10) Lydia: Who would you definitely not want to sit at a table with?

Momoshi: A Nazi.

11) Lydia: What character traits do you appreciate or value in others?

Momoshi: Honesty, empathy, passion, and reliability.

12) Lydia: How do you relax?

Momoshi: Long, hot baths. When on my special island (Teneriffa), I love to chill in a hammock watching the ocean.

13) Lydia: Where is your next trip going to be?

Momoshi: I‘d love to go to Ghana as soon as it is possible to travel without any restrictions. 

14) Lydia: What dream do you want to fulfil yourself?

Momoshi: Ten years ago, I wanted to roll a giant inflatable football through Africa. My Momoshi style ball made it to some townships in South Africa, but it never made it through the entire African continent as originally planned. Maybe I’ll give it another try one day. Still, my idea became a reality and eventually became a  lucky charm for some of Germany’s World Cup matches. The other big dream is a futuristic art gallery in the middle of a lake.

15) Lydia: Life is too short to …

Momoshi: To waste it by staring needlessly at your phone.

Lydia: Thank you for the interview!

Momoshi: You’re welcome.

Additional info about Momoshi:
The Nuremberg based multimedia street-art artist and animator “Momoshi” is a “traveller between worlds” in a biographical as well as an artistic sense. He calls himself a cosmopolitan as he has visited and lived in many different countries. He was born in Hungary, but grew up in Germany and Algeria, among other places. Besides this, he also speaks five languages.

His paintings are joyful and ironic, and his figures are brightly coloured and extroverted. The inspiration to become an artist came suddenly and out of nowhere in the middle of a lecture at university. “Like a lightning bolt”, he says. This happened quite a while ago, back at a time when he was studying American Studies, Modern History, and Art History. For his stage name, a woman is responsible – how could it be otherwise?, To be more precise, a Japanese woman whom he had met at a party and wanted to impress with his artistic abilities, he told me with a grin on his face. Literally translated, Momoshi means “dead peach”.

Momoshi always has many plans in mind and even more ideas. But he is also an artist who is always committed to social projects. He is particularly interested in aid projects for children. He was already involved in the soccer charity project „GLOBALL – rolling for a better world™“ (2010) , the “Fürther Glanzlichter (2019)”, “Blaue Nacht (2018)”, “Gastspiele – offene Ateliertage (2014 & 2018)” and he recently created a graffiti, with the title “[Don’t] Kiss me in Nürnberg”, on the construction fence in front of the Künstlerhaus/KUKUQ- He updated it,providing a face mask for the two lovers as a symbol of the current confusion and fear caused by the current coronavirus pandemic.  He has just designed and painted the whole interior of the new City Hostel Nürnberg-Fürth-Erlangen, which will officially open to the public on 18th September 2020. The opening will be celebrated with an open house day on Saturday 19th September 2020 with live music and many other small activities from 2 p.m. to approx. 6 p.m. Interested in buying an original work or want to book him for a wall painting in your living room, office, or an event? – check out his website or contact him directly via Facebook or email!

More about Momoshi – The Godfather of Organic Art:

contact: momoshishop@gmail.com
http://www.momoshi.eu

http://artofmomoshi.tumblr.com

http://facebook.com/momoshihttps://instagram.com/mistermomoshi

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