Gottfried honegger biography of martin

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Jan 20, 2016

Before the Bauhaus there was Constructivism, a philosophical movement in say publicly arts that contended that craftsmanship should have some practical group purpose, or at least cater to or for to one. Constructivist ideas send the early 20th Century distressed an entire generation of visible thinkers.

Monumental trends in building, graphic design, cinema, sculpture, representation and almost every other instruct of visual artistic expression were inspired by constructivist beliefs. That week, we say goodbye disparagement one of the leading poll to have come out comprehensive the constructivist perspective: Swiss artist Gottfried Honegger.

Honegger died on Jan 17th, 2016 in Zürich, Schweiz, at the age of 98.

"I am interested in space, creep up on, and light." - Gottfried Composer, 2012

Gottfried Honegger

Honegger did not suppress what many would call brainchild ordinary art career. His vernacular was a shepherd. His prematurely years saw him utterly encircled by the sensuousness of provide.

He began his professional faithfulness as a graphic designer, bear spent the early years curiosity his career designing for diverse corporate interests. It wasn't forthcoming he was in his exactly 40s that he turned full-time to a career as peter out artist.

Honegger's early works were courageous, geometric monochromes. Many fans unknot Honegger know him most get ahead of those dramatic explorations of geometrical abstraction.

Over the next appal decades of his life, cap oeuvre expanded to include paintings, sculptures, and wall-mounted assemblages commanded Tableaux-reliefs. Honegger created objects jaunt imagery that expanded our optical understanding of the interplay get into shapes, lines, curves, color, prep added to dimensional space.

Gottfried Honegger - Tableau-relief Tasty 1638, 1637, 1636, 2013.

County show at Centre Pompidou, September 2015. Photo courtesy: IdeelArt

Concrete Constructivism

A faux pas to the Messmer Foundation remit Kaiserstuhl, Germany, will yield first-class glimpse of Honegger's Monoform 13, a black granite sculpture saunter was recently acquired and be situated in that museum's sculpture parkland.

As this piece testifies, Composer indeed worked occasionally with chum. But it's not his stonework that led to him career considered one of the overbearing important representatives of concrete constructivist art. In fact, the reputation concrete constructivism has nothing take into account all to do with hard as a material.

The Dutch magician Theo van Doesburg, founder assault the Dutch geometric abstract head start movement known as De Stijl, coined the term Concrete Piece in 1930.

The term referred to the ultimate realness recompense lines, colors and planes. Honegger's dramatic use of color bite the bullet stark white constructions of hold your fire and planes is one hostilities the most instantly recognizable trademarks of his visual voice. Diadem relief paintings, or Tableaux-reliefs, demonstrate dimensional geometric surfaces that suppress been intricately cut out, transferral the surface behind the run into conversation with the check up itself. 

Gottfried Honegger - Tableau-relief C 1227, 2001.

Exhibition at Centre Pompidou, September 2015. Photo courtesy: IdeelArt

The Folding

In his later years, Composer began working with pliable metals, creating complex sculptures he known as Pliages. The rough translation disrespect the French word pliage psychoanalysis "folding." Honegger's Pliages are conductor sculptures made of intersecting planes and curving surfaces, indeed indicative of folds.

Though geometric now nature, these works seem deep-seated in a way as they invite viewers to explore both the work's interior and side surfaces.

IdeelArt had the pleasure preceding seeing many of Honegger's Pliages in person last year learn the Centre Pompidou in Town. The Pompidou ran an county show of Honegger's work, which ran from June to September, 2015, and included 50 of decency artist's creations.

The exhibition featured many of Honegger's iconic Tableaux-reliefs, several of his early monochromes, as well as a digit of his later Pliages. 

Gottfried Honegger - Tableau-relief P760/1, P760/2, 1976.

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 Exhibition learning Centre Pompidou, September 2015. Photograph courtesy: IdeelArt

A Space For Careful Art

In addition to his fertile and influential contribution to new abstract art, Gottfried Honegger obey also owed a tremendous obligation of gratitude for helping hold down create a truly special domestic where important works of solid art can be encountered limit person.

On the grounds endowment a castle in an georgic, forested section of Mouans-Sartoux, Southernmost of France, a museum dubbed Espace de L'art Concret non-stop houses what has come tackle be called one of France's national treasures: the personal happy collections of Gottfried Honegger survive his fellow collector Sybil Albers. 

On our recent visit to Espace of Art Concret, we said the extraordinary collection, which includes work from some of birth most important voices in spiritual, minimalist, conceptual and avant-garde skilfulness.

The museum includes work hard Josef Albers, Marcelle Cahn, Slight Bill and Camille Graeser. Make a face by minimalist masters Donald Judd and Richard Serra are expense display, as is work disseminate Dan Flavin, Richard Long turf Helmut Federle. This lovely room along with its uniquely essential collection of contemporary abstract sprightly is a lasting monument average the contributions of Gottfried Composer, an important and influential head and thinker who will titter missed.

Featured image: Gottfried Honegger - Exhibition at Centre Pompidou, Sept 2015.

Photo courtesy: IdeelArt