Gerda Kratz

Gerda Kratz (born July 6, 1926 in Pirmasens ; † March 13, 2011 in Düsseldorf ) was a German sculptor .

Career

Mother Ey from Gerda Kratz, in Malkasten-Park, Düsseldorf

Gravesite Gerda and Max Kratz Nordfriedhof Düsseldorf

Gerda Rheinberger, born as the daughter of the shoe manufacturer Gustav Rheinberger , studied from 1946 to 1947 at the master school for the craftsmanship in Düsseldorf and was a private student of the sculptor Willi Hoselmann . From 1948 to 1949 she attended Adolf Wamper's sculpture class at the Folkwang School in Essen, and from 1950 to 1952 Gerda studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy with Bruno Goller and Joseph Enseling . In 1951 she married the sculptor Max Kratz , and in 1953 her son Thomas was born. The couple had a long-term study group in their studio in Grafenberg and next to her several employees of her husband were working hard during the day and happy parties at night. During this time, small-format bronzes and terracottas were created. There were also numerous trips around the world. Since 1980 Gerda Kratz had her own studio in Gerresheim . She participated in exhibitions and competitions. Museum acquisitions and commissions for work in public spaces followed. Gerda Kratz had been a member of the Düsseldorf Artists 'Association and the Malkasten artists' association since 1984 . When her husband died in 2000, she set up a foundation to look after his work and transferred this foundation to Solingen, where her husband carried out several commissions and headed the art advisory board for many years. Gerda Kratz died on March 13, 2011 in Düsseldorf. Gerda Kratz was buried at the side of her husband in the north cemetery in Düsseldorf.

plant

Gerda Kratz was a Gerresheim artist who was able to combine high craftsmanship with ideas and humor. Her works, for example “Im Eimer”, “Im Café”, “Lovers” or “Big Egg Band” are characterized by round and knobbly figures. She worked in stone, bronze, ceramics, wood and also plastic (Leguval).

Works (selection)

• 1983: Mother Ey , polyester for bronze, height 50 cm
• 1985: End of Freedom , height 49 cm
• 1989: terminus , Leguval, height 145 cm
• 1996: Black Pieta , Leguval, height 48 cm
• 1997: On the basket , bronze, h. 25 cm
• The window , bronze, 33 × 36 cm
• The instrument , bronze 81 cm
• Saint Ursula , ceramic, height 100 cm
• Reading couple , bronze, Solingen

Exhibitions (selection)

• 1962 to 1989: Wuppertal and Solingen BKG
• from 1984: VDK in Düsseldorf, Stadtmuseum, Kunstpalast, Zollhalle, Kaarst, Mettmann, Welver, Bonn Women's Museum
• from 1984 KVM Düsseldorf, Berlin, Moscow, Lucerne
• 1986 Angermund
• 1989 Groningen, Castorp, Freinsheim
• 1990 Pirmasens
• 1996, 1999, 2002 Hilden
• 2002 Melanchthon parish, Düsseldorf-Rath

Honors

Gerda Kratz was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia on September 2, 1987 .

literature

• Andreas Klimt (Ed.): Kürschner's Handbook of the Visual Artists: Germany, Austria, Switzerland. De Gruyter, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3598247378 , p. 600.

Web links

• Gerda Kratz, artist life in Düsseldorf , in artist directory, cultural office of the state capital Düsseldorf

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Willi Hoselmann (1890–1978) studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy as a master student of Hubert Netzer .
2. ^ Association of Düsseldorf artists: Gerda Kratz
3. ^ Obituary notice Gerda Kratz, RP Created on March 19, 2011
4. ^ "Lovers" , on Artnet, accessed on August 30, 2015
5. ↑ Gerda Kratz - end of the line
6. ↑ Figure reading couple : A couple on a bench, fused in a bronze cast, is sitting in the pedestrian zone of Solingen reading a book. ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ Merit holders since 1986. State Chancellery of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on March 11, 2017 .