Günther Berger (sculptor)

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Günther Berger (born February 14, 1929 in Theresienfeld , Czechoslovakia ; † September 1, 2014 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German sculptor .

Life

Günther Berger was born as the second of three children in Theresienfeld in Czechoslovakia. The father was a teacher, in 1933 the family moved to Dürrseifen (today: Světlá Hora ), on March 16, 1945 the father died in the war. In 1946 the family was expelled from Czechoslovakia and part of the family moved to Hohenroth , now part of the Bad Neustadt an der Saale administrative community .

With the aim of becoming a sculptor later, Günther Berger completed an apprenticeship at the Bischofsheim wood carving school. After the journeyman's examination, he studied from 1949 to 1950 at the arts and crafts school in Würzburg and in 1950 switched to the sculpture class at the Städelschule a . a. with Hans Mettel . During his studies, which he only finished in 1957, he received the Martin B. Leisser Foundation Prize. In 1958 he received a travel grant for Italy from the DAAD and in 1960 he received a grant from the Villa Massimo . Between 1974 and 1979 he worked as a lecturer at the Städelschule and taught the subject technology of sculpture , at the same time he also taught at the Liebigschule in Frankfurt as an art teacher from 1975.

He not only exhibited several times with the painter Dieter Stein , but also worked on the joint cycle of works "Collages" between 1977 and 1999

Both his studio and his house were in Frankfurt-Praunheim. The latter was a housing estate of the New Frankfurt .

plant

Günther Berger devoted himself to both abstract and figurative sculpture. He worked in clay, concrete, steel, aluminum and paper. He moved from paper sculptures to lead sculptures. Each sculpture is supplemented by a steel plate adapted to the proportions as an "action area".

In 1986 the first "movable figures" were created by Günther Berger freely connecting three to five forms and joints. He also called the characters "polymorphic". In 2006, Susanne Ruth commented on the versatility of these sculptures in the context of the exhibition “Of Heads and Bodies” at the Giersch Museum , as follows: “The idea of ​​permanent division and development ultimately led to the closed metal figures made of several parts, the innumerable possibilities of extensive movement in to hide and explore proportions in the change. "́

Ulrike Brandenburg from Wiesbadener Kurier took an exhibition with works by Berger in 2014 as an opportunity to write a review and to describe the entire work as "constantly innovative in its basic structure" .

Berger's work is divided into 3–4 creative phases:

  • 1960 to 1969, iron sculptures, welded
  • 1969 to 1970, sculptures made of chased aluminum
  • 1970 to 1979, works on paper
  • After 1979 lead sculptures, from 1986 moving figures were created

Selected Works

  • Dancer (bronze), Städel Museum
  • Standing girl (terracotta), Städel Museum
  • Hersfeld Prize (design of the badge)
  • Collagen (1977–1999), together with Dieter Stein
  • "Movable Figures" cycle (changeable sculptures)
  • Heads

Publicly accessible works

His large-scale sculptures in particular are open to the public, including in: Frankfurt, Munich, Hanau, Bodenrod, Groß-Karben, Pohlgöns, Seulberg, Marburg, Gießen, Bad Homburg, Wiesbaden, Fulda.

In institutions there are works e.g. E.g. in: Städelmuseum Frankfurt, Städtische Galerie Würzburg, Art Archive Kaiserswerth Düsseldorf, City Collection Neu-Ulm, Collection Bahnhof Rolandseck, Museum am Dom Würzburg, Art and Literature Archive Insel Hombroich, Neuss

Exhibitions and participation in exhibitions

Berger had participated in several exhibitions of the Frankfurter Kunstverein and the Nassauischer Kunstverein. His works were carried out by the galleries Dorothea Loehr, Poller, B. Haasner

  • "Four Frankfurt Artists in Prague", 1959
  • "35 artists in the Frankfurter Kunstverein" 1963
  • Accademia Tedesca Roma Villa Massimo, 1960
  • G. Berger - sculptures / D. Stein - pictures a. Drawings, Otto-Richter-Halle, Würzburg 1969
  • 2nd Triennial Small Sculpture , 1983
  • Arp Museum - Bahnhof Rolandseck, 1984
  • Museum in the Kulturspeicher Würzburg, 1985
  • 1822 Forum, 1987
  • “Of heads and bodies”, Museum Giersch, 2006
  • Dieter Stein and friends , Museum im Kulturspeicher Würzburg, 2014

literature

  • Alexander Bastek (arr.): Of heads and bodies. Frankfurt sculpture from the Städel , Frankfurt a. M .: Städel 2006, ISBN 9783935283113 , pp. 262-263.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Harald Kretzschmar: www.haus-schlangeneck.de , accessed on December 22, 2014.
  2. ↑ Current art exhibitions in Wiesbaden ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Wiesbadener Kurier from January 30, 2014, accessed on December 22, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wiesbadener-kurier.de
  3. ^ The Hersfeld Prize for Actors , accessed December 22, 2014.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Berger, Günther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH February 14, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Theresienfeld , Czechoslovakia
DATE OF DEATH September 1, 2014
Place of death Frankfurt am Main