Walks became pictures

Susanna Kuratli was born in Thun in 1948 and passed away on October 2, 2018. She began her education by attending the School of Arts and Crafts and completing an apprenticeship as a decorator in Bern. After working for a year in Geneva, she completed an internship in a print shop in the field of photolithography. She then began a three-year training course as a draughtswoman in an architectural office, where she was also able to realize three wall designs in the Coopérative d'Habitation "Les Ailes". After a language course in England and her marriage, she worked for a further two years as an interior draughtswoman in store fitting.

Susanna Kuratli discovered her characteristic style of painting through her husband, who grew up in Toggenburg. She was deeply impressed by Toggenburg and Appenzell peasant painting. She spent a week visiting a peasant painter in Grabs, who introduced her to the secrets of this traditional form of painting and to oil painting. This art form, which represents the customs of a deeply rooted region, fascinated her. She began to teach herself oil painting and to create her own works.

In 1975, she presented her work for the first time in a public exhibition organized by Galerie 58 in Bern, where she was awarded third prize by the jury out of 200 exhibitors. In the same year, she was invited by the Swiss Trade Promotion Center to exhibit her works in the official Swiss pavilion at the international fair in Ghent (Belgium), where she also painted. This success led her to give up her work as a draughtswoman in 1976 and devote herself entirely to painting. In the same year, the first calendar with her pictures was published.

After about three years, during which she devoted herself to Appenzell and Toggenburg peasant painting, her interest increasingly shifted to depicting farmhouses. Eventually, her fascination extended to farmhouses throughout Switzerland, which she captured in great detail in her works. Some of these houses no longer exist today, but they live on in her paintings.

Since 1980, Susanna Kuratli has lived with her family in Arni, a small village on the edge of the canton of Aargau, close to the city of Zurich. Here she found the peace and inspiration to continue her artistic work. Her works will be remembered as a lasting legacy of her passion and talent.


Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.