Günther Friedrich (painter)

Günther Friedrich , (born December 22, 1930 in Dresden ; died May 22, 1986 in Cottbus ) was a German painter , graphic artist and draftsman .

Life

Günther Friedrich began an apprenticeship as a chimney sweep in Dresden in 1945, before completing an apprenticeship as a commercial artist from 1946 to 1949. He then worked for a short time as a graphic designer for the German Hygiene Museum . From 1950 to 1955 he studied at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts . His teachers initially included Erich Fraaß and Lea Grundig , and from 1953 also Hans Grundig . After completing his studies, he worked as a freelancer and lived in Dresden until 1956, in Schwarze Pumpe from 1956 to 1959 and in Cottbus from 1959 until the end of his life . From 1960 to 1966 he had a work contract with VEB Chemiefaserwerk Guben , from 1970 to 1973 he worked for LPG Florian Geyer in Golßen . From 1974 to 1983 Friedrich had a second studio in Klöden Castle . He had been a member of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR (VBK) since 1957 and its district chairman in Cottbus from 1972 to 1978. From 1978 to 1984 he was a member of the central painter / graphic artist section of the VBK in Berlin. He was one of the initiators of an art museum in Cottbus .

plant

In his early work, Friedrich was mainly influenced by his teacher Hans Grundig and created several portraits in the style of expressive color realism. Later he discovered the harsh landscape of the Lausitz as a subject. In addition to landscape motifs, he also created views of his adopted home Cottbus. In his late work there are increasingly still lifes, in which he was based on the work of the Italian Giorgio Morandi . Simplified objects, such as bottles, are increasingly coming to the fore. His works are in the Museum Junge Kunst in Frankfurt (Oder) , in the Art Collection Neubrandenburg , in the Art Collection Lausitz and in the Art Museum Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus , which alone owns 28 paintings and an inventory of drawings by Günther Friedrich.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• 1968: Museum of Branitz Castle
• 1976: Kreiskulturhaus Jessen / Elster
• 1987: Lausitz Art Collection , Senftenberg
• 1990: State Art Collections Cottbus
• 2015: Art Museum Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus

Group exhibitions

• 1962–87 art exhibition of the GDR , Dresden
• 1964: Our contemporary , National Gallery , Berlin (GDR)
• 2001: Günther Friedrich and friends , Brandenburg Art Collections, Cottbus

Awards

• 1974: Carl Blechen Prize
• 1984: Hans Grundig Medal

literature

• Günther Friedrich . In: General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL). XLV, Saur, Munich [?], P. 155.
• Ulrike Kremeier, Sabrina Kotzian, Jörg Sperling: Günther Friedrich Constellation I . Verlag M, Berlin 2015, ISBN 3-406-67698-7 .
• Susanne Lambrecht: Günther Friedrich - an artist in the Cottbus district; Biography, work analysis, catalog raisonné . Ed. Himmelblau, Cottbus 2007, ISBN 3-00-023008-4 .
• E.-H. Lemper: Günther Friedrich: Painting, graphics, exhibition catalog Spreewaldmuseum Lübbenau, Museum Cottbus, Branitz Castle, Görlitz Municipal Art Collections 1968.
• Heinrich Schierz: Günther Friedrich: paintings, pastels, prints . Exhibition catalog Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Cottbus 1990.