{"product_id":"what-i-was-working-toward","title":"What I Was Working Toward","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Dream, the Fractures, and the Path to a New World\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI grew up in Cologne – in a family where sports dictated absolutely everything. No one around me had anything to do with art; instead, all family members were elite athletes and worked in that field. From an early age, sports were my only identity, my compass, and my purpose in life. I tried every sport until my focus shifted entirely to volleyball.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt 16, I made it into the youth national team and moved to the sports boarding school in Frankfurt, Germany, for two years. My life was crystal clear and aligned toward a single goal: the dream of becoming a professional, making it all the way to the top, and spending every free second on the court. But already at the age of 16, I had to undergo my first knee surgery – a first minor setback on a path that was supposed to be unstoppable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter my time in Frankfurt, I moved to Berlin to continue playing at the highest level. But after just one month, the shock followed: another knee injury, another surgery, and a forced break of a year and a half. The dream I had pursued since childhood shattered overnight. I had to give up everything my life was built upon. In that time of silence, I began to paint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBetween Two Worlds\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo this day, life often feels surreal. Many of my closest friends are still professional volleyball and beach volleyball players. I still move in this sports world, hang out with pros, and feel this deep connection – while simultaneously standing out there as an artist. I am caught between these two worlds: on one hand, the longing for the old, familiar athlete's life; on the other hand, the unbridled freedom and opportunity of my new reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Endless Stream of Ideas\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePainting became not only an outlet, but a necessity. My mind never stands still – even at night in bed, I often cannot find rest because I constantly have hundreds of ideas for new paintings in my head. I have ideas for thousands of more works. During my travels in recent years, where I was on the road almost continuously, I started capturing this flood of thoughts immediately wherever I could: on anything within reach, such as banknotes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe artwork \"What I Was Working Toward\" is the visual foundation of this entire journey. It shows the look back at sports, the pain of giving up, and simultaneously the moment when a completely new artistic calling grew out of the lost dream.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lars Stenchly","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54846326112593,"sku":null,"price":2249.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0765\/8602\/5297\/files\/FullSizeRender_e25c0951-39a0-4e1f-b7a3-10fad648afcc.jpg?v=1789117750","url":"https:\/\/lars-stenchly.com\/products\/what-i-was-working-toward","provider":"Lars Stenchly","version":"1.0","type":"link"}