Henry Gowa
Encyclopedia
Henry Gowa was a German
painter
and stage designer.
. After studying in Munich
he established himself as a stage designer, and was active in Munich, Leipzig
and Frankfurt. In 1931 the progressive gallery owner Ludwig Schames organised the first exclusive exhibition of Gowa, displaying his paintings as well as stage designs.
With the rise to power of the Nazis, Gowa emigrated to Paris
, and was interned several times during the Second World War. He changed his name to Henry to distance himself from his namesake Hermann Goering. Through his contacts in the French Resistance
, Gowa found refuge in a village in the mountains of Southern France, and escaped the Holocaust.
After 1945 he returned to Germany and became the director of the Schule für Kunst und Handwerk in Saarbrücken
, where he established a connection with Frans Masereel
. Later he became director of the Werkkunstschule in Offenbach am Main (today the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach
), and played a key role in its internationalisation, through exhibitions such as Young French Painting (Offenbach, 1955) and Young German Painting (Paris, 1955). In 1957 he became the chief commissioner of the German section of the Paris Biennale. He later received the Federal Cross of Merit.
He died in Munich, having spent his final years in Oberschleißheim
, where his estate of 1,200 works was stored. This estate is now on permanent loan at the Ludwig Meidner
Archive of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt
.
, while in exile Gowa was influenced by the protagonists of the French avant-garde
, whom he came to know personally, including Bonnard
, Chagall
, Matisse
and Picasso
. After the war he increasingly sought more universal modes of expression, creating abstract compositions poised between explosive dynamics and balanced harmony.
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
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and stage designer.
Life
Gowa was born Hermann Gowa in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. After studying in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
he established himself as a stage designer, and was active in Munich, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and Frankfurt. In 1931 the progressive gallery owner Ludwig Schames organised the first exclusive exhibition of Gowa, displaying his paintings as well as stage designs.
With the rise to power of the Nazis, Gowa emigrated to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and was interned several times during the Second World War. He changed his name to Henry to distance himself from his namesake Hermann Goering. Through his contacts in the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, Gowa found refuge in a village in the mountains of Southern France, and escaped the Holocaust.
After 1945 he returned to Germany and became the director of the Schule für Kunst und Handwerk in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
, where he established a connection with Frans Masereel
Frans Masereel
Frans Masereel was a Flemish painter and graphic artist who worked mainly in France. He is known especially for his woodcuts. His greatest work is generally said to be the wordless graphic novel Mon Livre d'Heures . He completed over 20 other wordless novels in his career...
. Later he became director of the Werkkunstschule in Offenbach am Main (today the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach
Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach
The Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main is an art and design university in the German State of Hesse. The school is divided into two departments. It was given university status in 1970. The degree course offers a choice of five different final examination topics: art, communication design,...
), and played a key role in its internationalisation, through exhibitions such as Young French Painting (Offenbach, 1955) and Young German Painting (Paris, 1955). In 1957 he became the chief commissioner of the German section of the Paris Biennale. He later received the Federal Cross of Merit.
He died in Munich, having spent his final years in Oberschleißheim
Oberschleißheim
Oberschleißheim is a municipality in the district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 13 km north of Munich . As of 2005 it had a population of 11,467....
, where his estate of 1,200 works was stored. This estate is now on permanent loan at the Ludwig Meidner
Ludwig Meidner
Ludwig Meidner was a German expressionist painter and printmaker born in Bernstadt, Silesia. He was apprenticed to a stonemason, but the apprenticeship was not completed. He studied at the Royal School of Art in Breslau and, from 1906-07 at the Julien and Cormon Academies in Paris where he met...
Archive of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt
Jewish Museum Frankfurt
The Jewish Museum of the City of Frankfurt am Main covers the history and culture of the Jewish communities in Frankfurt from the 12th to the 20th centuries. There is another branch of the museum, the Museum Judengasse, in a different part of town....
.
Work
Initially a devotee of CézannePaul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
, while in exile Gowa was influenced by the protagonists of the French avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
, whom he came to know personally, including Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard was a French painter and printmaker, as well as a founding member of Les Nabis.-Biography:...
, Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
and Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
. After the war he increasingly sought more universal modes of expression, creating abstract compositions poised between explosive dynamics and balanced harmony.