
STEPHAN ZARMANN

I am a self-trained artist whose work reflects the beauty in urban decay and the fleeting nature of city life. Having lived in cities across Germany, Sweden, and the UK, I capture the textures and memories of overlooked spaces through abstract surfaces, evoking a sense of nostalgia and the passage of time.
My work wants you to pause and find time to contemplate amid the chaotic and unpredictable everyday of urban life so that you can appreciate the connections, variety and all those little poetic moments that our cities offer.
My pieces aim to be a reflection of the spaces and moments that sit just beneath the surface — the quiet, forgotten corners of our cities where the pulse of life has softened. I am drawn to the textures of decay, the beauty in abandonment, and the transient nature of urban life.
Through abstract surfaces, I explore the balance between presence and absence, between what fades away and what endures. I find inspiration in the fleeting and the overlooked, capturing the passing of time through cracked walls, peeling paint, and the soft erosion of memory.
My process is informal and intuitive, rooted in a sense of realism that acknowledges both the harshness and the poetry of the everyday. In my work, I seek to evoke a sense of nostalgia — a quiet reflection on the spaces we leave behind and the traces they leave on us.
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Here's where you could find me:
Revierkunst, Henrichshütte Hattingen, April 2022
Zwischenraum, Buer, February 2023
The Flying Fruitbowl
Online Art Magazine, November 2023
Szeniale Festival, Gelsenkirchen-Ückendorf, August 2024
Justizzentrum, Gelsenkirchen, August-September 2024
Cultivate Mixtape #8 Online Group Show, London, October 2024
BAAM Berlin Affordable Art Market, Berlin, 22nd-24th November 2024
Stuff I Like Kunstmarkt, Duisburg, 14th/15th December 2024​