Press & Media Room
Press
Everything a writer needs in one place: the story, the facts, the works, the quotes, the downloads and how to reach the studio. All figures and dates trace to the catalogue.
“Stev Varga shows his whole archive for free and lets the city price it. Nothing is for sale — and that's exactly why people can't stop valuing it.”
Short bio
Stev Varga (b. 25 June 1978, Altdöbern) is a self-taught painter, comic maker and trained bookbinder based in Cottbus, in the Lusatia region of eastern Germany. He builds dense mixed-media works in acrylic, coffee, cotton and found wood that critique and reimagine social norms, with a through-line honouring the lives of African immigrants in Cottbus. In 2025 his practice became the subject of a BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg research project — the first academic study of his work. Nothing in his archive of 61 catalogued works is for sale; instead, every visitor is invited to say what a piece is worth to them.
Fast facts
- Artist: Stev Varga — self-taught painter, comic maker, trained bookbinder.
- Born / based: 25 June 1978, Altdöbern · works in Cottbus, Lusatia, Germany.
- The archive: 61 catalogued mixed-media works (SV-002 … SV-062), 2007–2025.
- The model: nothing is for sale — the public says what each work is worth.
- Recognition: subject of a 2025 BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg study and photo essay.
- Provenance: every work has an accession number, a signed certificate and a QR check.
- Catalogue: “The Archive” — Catalogue 01, released Summer 2025 (bilingual EN/DE).
- Online: stevvarga.de · verify at stevvarga.de/verify · contact@stevvarga.de.
For release: the archive is open
Cottbus, Germany — Self-taught painter Stev Varga has opened his complete archive online: 61 mixed-media works made between 2007 and 2025, each catalogued, verifiable, and free to see. None of them is for sale. Instead, visitors are asked a single question — what would you pay for it? — and the site publishes the live median of their answers.
The largest body of work, the Xenoase series, honours African lives in Lusatia and was documented in 2025 by researchers at BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg, who read the studio itself as “an act of performative resilience in Cottbus.” The archive is online now at stevvarga.de; studio visits in Cottbus are possible by appointment.
Selected works
Press-ready images of these and all 61 works are available on request. Each links to its catalogue page.
Quotes
“Art is action.” — Stev Varga
His work “actively constructs migrant memory, performs resilience, and advocates for true diversity and intersectional understanding.” — BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg study, 2025
Downloads
Contact
Press, exhibitions, commissions and workshops: contact@stevvarga.de. Studio in Cottbus, by appointment. Web: stevvarga.de.