Peace

Visual Description

“Peace” shows a girl at full length in front of a gray wall. She wears a bright yellow dress, light-framed glasses and black lace-up boots. Her right arm is raised high, a pistol in her hand. With her left hand she holds a blue teddy bear by its arm, hanging down beside her leg.

The wall behind her is covered with chalk drawings and graffiti: a large peace sign sprayed in red, the word “Peace” in green, stick figures, a car, small hearts and handwritten words. Only the dress and the teddy bear are painted in full color, while the figure herself remains gray. The narrow vertical format emphasizes her upright stance.

Artistic Interpretation

The painting works with a hard contrast. Childhood, a toy and a peace sign stand against a weapon that the girl holds up like a sign of victory. Hübner does not resolve this contradiction. He shows how closely innocence and violence can sit together in images, in the media and in society.

The wall reads like a memory: traces of many hands, messages and scribbles. The girl stands in front of it as part of that world, not as an exception. The title “Peace” thus sounds like a hope and a question at once.

Art-Historical Context

The motif of a child with a weapon appears in photography and in street art, notably in Banksy’s work, as an image of social contradiction. Hübner translates this visual language into a precisely painted figure and combines it with the aesthetic of the wall, which recalls urban graffiti and children’s drawings.

Exclusivity

“Peace” is a unique work in acrylic on canvas, 100 × 50 cm, completed in October 2025. It contains UV-reactive paint: under black light, the dress, the teddy bear and the graffiti glow while the wall recedes.

Collector Value

The painting belongs to the work group “Identity and the Present” and was shown publicly at Schloss Dornburg in 2026. Its slender vertical format is especially suited to wall space between windows, hallways and stairwells.

For collectors seeking art with a clear social question, “Peace” is a compelling work that opens conversation without lecturing.

More About the Artist

Matthias Hübner (b. 1976) combines high-contrast figuration with intense color and an open, psychologically charged visual language in modern surrealistic realism. People, emotions and different levels of perception are at the center of his work. Since returning to painting in 2020, he has continued to develop his artistic position experimentally.

Early awards at the GDR youth painting competition in 1989 and the European painting competition in 1993, along with international recognition in recent years, mark his artistic development.

Condition Report

Very good condition; no visible defects. A detailed condition report is available on request.

Exhibitions and Awards

2026: Cosy Festival, Schloss Dornburg, Dornburg (Elbe), Germany