Günther Förg
Encyclopedia
Günther Förg is a prominent German
painter, graphic designer, sculptor, and photographer. His abstract style is influenced by American abstract painting.
with Karl Fred Dahmen. From 1992 until 1999, he taught at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe
. In 1996, he was awarded the Wolfgang Hahn Prize. Since 1999, he has worked as a professor in Munich. Günther Förg lives in Areuse.
Between 1973 (Förg’s first year as a student at The Academy of Fine Art Munich) and 1976, Förg painted almost exclusively black monochrome canvas pictures in acrylic, which, with the addition of a translucent grey, produced a milky, veiled surface effect. After the death of his artistic colleague, Blinky Palermo
, Förg pursued the latter’s European legacy of American Minimal Art from 1977.
In the early 1980s, he made his so-called Alubilder – assemblages of aluminium sheeting onto which the artist had painted linear patterns or portrait photographs.
Förg started using photography ih his work at the beginning of the 1980s. In the area of photography he is known for his works from 1980-2006, primarily on famous architectural sites such as the Wittgenstein House, Casa Malaparte
and Casa del Fascio. Förg's photographic research using a 35 mm camera and zoom lense presents the uncompromisingly modern architecture in an unembellished way, sometimes delapidated, often featuring careless renovations or additions.
In 1988, as part of the Sculpture in the City exhibition, Förg installed two metres-long walls of mirrors in a Rotterdam tube station; they were demolished in 1999.
Since 1992, paintings and works on paper, known and documented in literature as "Gitterbilder" (grid paintings), appear in Günther Förg's work. The roots are to be found in an earlier series, the so-called "Fenster-Aquarelle" (window watercolors): the crossbar forms a grid for the space in the image, which provides the frame for a whole flow of paintings without limiting their free display and development.
In a recent group exhibition in Berlin, "60 Jahre / 60 Werke ", celebrating the 60th birthday of the Federal Republic of Germany, Förgs showed five photographs: "Ida", 1985/86 (180x120cm) ; "Treppenhaus München", 1986 (180x120cm) ; "Michaela" , 1986 (180x120cm) , "Asilo d'infanzia , Sant Elia , Como", 1986 , (180x120cm), and "Asilo d'Infanzia , Sant Elia, Como", 1986 (180x120cm)
Förg is mentioned in "Art Now vol. 3 ", (Taschen Verlag, 2009) as being amongst the most interesting living contemporary artists. According to Artinvestor Magazine (2009), Förg ranks 23rd globally amongst living artists when several factors are combined, such as collections, auction results and gallery representation.
, followed by an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum
in Amsterdam in 1995. Förg has had solo exhibitions at Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg, Austria, Langen Foundation, Neuss, Germany, Kunstmuseum Basel
, Switzerland; Kunsthalle Bremen
, Germany; Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag, The Netherlands; Tel Aviv Museum of Art
, Tel Aviv; Kunsthaus Bregenz
, Bregenz; and Deutsche Guggenheim
, Berlin. In 2007, he opened for the first time an exhibition in his birthplace Fuessen.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
painter, graphic designer, sculptor, and photographer. His abstract style is influenced by American abstract painting.
Vita
Förg studied from 1973 until 1979 at the Academy of Fine Arts in MunichAcademy of Fine Arts, Munich
The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich was founded 1808 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria in Munich as the "Royal Academy of Fine Arts" and is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany...
with Karl Fred Dahmen. From 1992 until 1999, he taught at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
. In 1996, he was awarded the Wolfgang Hahn Prize. Since 1999, he has worked as a professor in Munich. Günther Förg lives in Areuse.
Work
Günther Förg's artistic oeuvre encompasses paintings, graphic and sculptural works as well as a great body of architectural photographs. His geometrical, abstract, and heavily-dyed pictures have a strong decorative character. Förg combines materials and media in painting, sculpture and photography. The themes of his large scale architectural photographs are Bauhaus and fascist aesthetics, while his monochrome wall paintings and lead paintings are reflections on art.Between 1973 (Förg’s first year as a student at The Academy of Fine Art Munich) and 1976, Förg painted almost exclusively black monochrome canvas pictures in acrylic, which, with the addition of a translucent grey, produced a milky, veiled surface effect. After the death of his artistic colleague, Blinky Palermo
Blinky Palermo
Blinky Palermo, was a German abstract painter.-Early life and education:Palermo was born Peter Schwarze in Leipzig, Germany, in 1943, and adopted as an infant, with his twin brother, Michael, by foster parents named Heisterkamp, became Peter Heisterkamp, and moved to Münster in 1952...
, Förg pursued the latter’s European legacy of American Minimal Art from 1977.
In the early 1980s, he made his so-called Alubilder – assemblages of aluminium sheeting onto which the artist had painted linear patterns or portrait photographs.
Förg started using photography ih his work at the beginning of the 1980s. In the area of photography he is known for his works from 1980-2006, primarily on famous architectural sites such as the Wittgenstein House, Casa Malaparte
Casa Malaparte
Casa Malaparte is a house on Punta Massullo, on the eastern side of the Isle of Capri, Italy. It is one of the best examples of Italian modern and contemporary architecture....
and Casa del Fascio. Förg's photographic research using a 35 mm camera and zoom lense presents the uncompromisingly modern architecture in an unembellished way, sometimes delapidated, often featuring careless renovations or additions.
In 1988, as part of the Sculpture in the City exhibition, Förg installed two metres-long walls of mirrors in a Rotterdam tube station; they were demolished in 1999.
Since 1992, paintings and works on paper, known and documented in literature as "Gitterbilder" (grid paintings), appear in Günther Förg's work. The roots are to be found in an earlier series, the so-called "Fenster-Aquarelle" (window watercolors): the crossbar forms a grid for the space in the image, which provides the frame for a whole flow of paintings without limiting their free display and development.
In a recent group exhibition in Berlin, "60 Jahre / 60 Werke ", celebrating the 60th birthday of the Federal Republic of Germany, Förgs showed five photographs: "Ida", 1985/86 (180x120cm) ; "Treppenhaus München", 1986 (180x120cm) ; "Michaela" , 1986 (180x120cm) , "Asilo d'infanzia , Sant Elia , Como", 1986 , (180x120cm), and "Asilo d'Infanzia , Sant Elia, Como", 1986 (180x120cm)
Förg is mentioned in "Art Now vol. 3 ", (Taschen Verlag, 2009) as being amongst the most interesting living contemporary artists. According to Artinvestor Magazine (2009), Förg ranks 23rd globally amongst living artists when several factors are combined, such as collections, auction results and gallery representation.
Exhibitions
Förg had his first solo exhibition at Rüdiger Schöttle Gallery, Munich, in 1980 with a series of monochrome paintings. In 1992, his work could be seen at the documenta IXDocumenta
documenta is an exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau which took place in Kassel at that time...
, followed by an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum
Stedelijk Museum
Founded in 1874, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is a museum for classic modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It has been housed on the Paulus Potterstraat, next to Museum Square Museumplein and to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam Zuid...
in Amsterdam in 1995. Förg has had solo exhibitions at Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg, Austria, Langen Foundation, Neuss, Germany, Kunstmuseum Basel
Kunstmuseum Basel
The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the largest and most significant public art collection in Switzerland, and is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Its lineage extends back to the Amerbach Cabinet purchased by the city of Basel in 1661, which made it the first municipally owned museum...
, Switzerland; Kunsthalle Bremen
Kunsthalle Bremen
The Kunsthalle Bremen is an art museum in the Hanseatic City Bremen, Germany.The Kunsthalle was built in 1849 and enlarged in 1902 by architect Eduard Gildemeister....
, Germany; Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag, The Netherlands; Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was established in 1932 in a building that was the home of Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art opened in 1959. The museum moved to its current location on King Saul Avenue in...
, Tel Aviv; Kunsthaus Bregenz
Kunsthaus Bregenz
The Kunsthaus Bregenz presents temporary exhibitions of international contemporary art in Bregenz, capital of the Austrian Federal State of Vorarlberg...
, Bregenz; and Deutsche Guggenheim
Deutsche Guggenheim
The Deutsche Guggenheim is an art museum, located in the ground floor of the Deutsche Bank building, a sandstone building constructed in 1920 on the Unter den Linden boulevard in Berlin, Germany....
, Berlin. In 2007, he opened for the first time an exhibition in his birthplace Fuessen.
USA
- MOCA Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
- Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
- Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Saint Louis, MO
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA
- The Broad Art Foundation, Santa Monica, CA
Scandinavia
- Louisiana Museum of Modern ArtLouisiana Museum of Modern ArtThe Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is an art museum located directly on the shore of the Øresund Sound in Humlebæk, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the most visited art museum in Denmark with an extensive permanent collection of modern and contemporary art, dating from World War II and up...
, Humlebæk, Denmark - Arken Museum of Modern ArtArken Museum of Modern ArtARKEN Museum of Modern Art is a private non-for-profit charity, state authorized, contemporary art museum near Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. The museum was conceived and created by Copenhagen County.-Museum:...
, Ishøj, Denmark
External links
- http://www.60jahre-60werke.de/
- Günther Förg on Artcyclopedia