Gotthard Graubner, Original Gouache, Signed, 1970

Gotthard Graubner
Erlbach 1930 - 2013 Neuss

untitled, 1970

Oil and pencil on paper

Signed in pencil below the image and dated (19)70

Size: 65x50cm

Provenance: Robert Häusser Collection, Mannheim

We would like to thank Ms. Kitty Kemr, Gotthard Graubner Archives, for kind information on the of the work


Authenticity is guaranteed in writing

Gotthard Graubner was born on June 13, 1930 in Erlbach in Vogtland. from 1947-48 he studied at the University of Fine Arts in Berlin, then at the Art Academy in Dresden until 1952. After moving to the West, Graubner continued his art studies at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf in 1954. In the years 1955-57, Graubner's visual language broke away from the geometric color forms that had been used until then. First in watercolors, then also on canvas, he tried out forms of color application that ensured that the frequently applied color had priority over its limitations in shapes and the edges of the picture. In order to enhance the spatial effect of the colored areas, in the early 1960s Graubner decided to mount picture-sized color cushions in the picture itself and later cover them with a nylon fabric. These so-called “cushion pictures” were first exhibited by the Düsseldorf gallerist Alfred Schmela. After working as an art teacher for a year, Graubner received a teaching position at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg in 1965, where he was a professor of painting from 1969. In 1968 Graubner can be seen for the first time at the documenta in Kassel. The so-called “fog rooms” emerged between 1968 and 1972. In 1970, Graubner replaced the older work titles "Colour Body" and "Pillow Picture" with "Colour Space Body". When he represented the Federal Republic of Germany at the Biennale in Sao Paulo in 1971, he took the opportunity to travel on to Colombia, Peru and Mexico. Further study trips to India and Nepal will follow. In 1973 Graubner became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, and in 1976 he received a professorship for fine painting at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf. An unforgettable exhibition of his work took place in the State Art Gallery in Baden-Baden in 1980. In 1982, Graubner can be seen with a five-part color space body ensemble in the Federal Republic pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale. In 1987 the artist received the August Macke Prize from the city of Meschede and in 1988 the North German Art Prize. In the same year, Graubner created two large paintings for the Federal President's official residence in Berlin, Bellevue Palace. In 2001/02 the works of the Otto Ritschl Prize winner were exhibited in the Wiesbaden Museum. Graubner's oeuvre appears to be uninfluenced by developments in contemporary art. Rather, he consistently followed the path he had once taken: developing the color's own life - freed from the need to represent something other than itself - is the major theme of Gotthard Graubner's art.