Gunter Ullrich

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Gunter Ullrich (1987)

Gunter Ullrich (born April 7, 1925 in Würzburg ; † November 10, 2018 in Aschaffenburg ) was a German graphic artist , painter and art teacher . His artistic work focused on printmaking , watercolor and oil painting . In the post-war period he had a decisive influence on the artistic and cultural events of the city ​​of Aschaffenburg . With scientific lectures, excursions and courses, Ullrich encouraged the discussion of art and culture. He lived and worked as a freelance artist together with his wife, the artist Ursula Ullrich-Jacobi, in Aschaffenburg.

Mövenbrunnen after Ullrich's design in Leider
Gunter Ullrich (1999)

Life

Childhood and early adolescence

Gunter Ullrich came from Würzburg in Lower Franconia and was the son of the culturally active couple Heinrich (teacher) and Emma Ullrich. The Schiestl family's visual artists were among their friends. As a small child he was used to do practical art work in his father's classes. He was particularly influenced by drawing lessons from Heiner Dikreiter , who later became the director of the Würzburg Municipal Gallery (now part of the museum in the Kulturspeicher ). He spent his school days in Würzburg. After graduating from high school in 1942, Gunter Ullrich enrolled as a student of art history at the Julius Maximilians University in Würzburg . There he met the art historian Kurt Gerstenberg , who introduced him to Renaissance art (e.g. Albrecht Dürer ).

Military service and prisoner of war in World War II

After only three months of study, Ullrich was drafted into the armed forces in 1942. He was a soldier in the armored forces in France , East Prussia , Russia and Lithuania and suffered a war wound. In the military hospital near Kelme (Lithuania) not far from the Curonian Spit , he recorded his impressions artistically. These wartime testimonies have been in a permanent exhibition in Kelme (Lithuania) since 2002.

In 1945 Ullrich was taken prisoner of war in France and was a prisoner of war first in Marseille , then in Alsace . The stay shaped him, the southern light and the intense colors impressed him very much. The impression deepened later on frequent trips to Italy , France and Spain .

Studied and worked as an art teacher in Aschaffenburg

When he returned, Ullrich first gave drawing courses in Hammelburg, Franconia . From 1948 to 1951 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Anton Marxmüller . There he met his future wife, the sculptor Ursula Jacobi (born March 23, 1926 in Berlin ; † January 25, 2020), daughter of the composer Wolfgang Jacobi , whom he married in 1952.

After passing the state examination, Ullrich was an art teacher at the high school for boys in Aschaffenburg (today Friedrich-Dessauer-Gymnasium ) from 1952 until he retired in 1984 . His son Andreas Ullrich was born in Aschaffenburg in 1955. At the secondary school, Ullrich worked with his colleague, the Bohemian- German painter and graphic artist Anton Bruder (1898–1983). Brother had studied fine arts at the academies in Prague and Dresden and was influenced by Oskar Kokoschka and Expressionism . The collaboration with Anton Bruder significantly influenced Ullrich. Together, the two art teachers promoted and improved art classes.

Artistic and cultural engagement

Gunter Ullrich, together with his wife Ursula Ullrich-Jacobi, shaped and designed the cityscape of Aschaffenburg since the post-war period (for example by working on the bronze portal of the town hall in 1958). He campaigned for better exhibition conditions in Aschaffenburg and the surrounding area. His efforts and close cooperation with representatives of the city led to the fact that the Jesuit church , which was destroyed during the war, was converted into an exhibition hall for contemporary art in 1976.

He was a founding member and chairman of the Federal Association of Visual Artists (BBK) in Aschaffenburg , which has given artists more presence in the city to this day. In addition to his initiative for contemporary artists, Ullrich also called the work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner back to consciousness. Through his lectures, Ullrich ensured a growing interest in Kirchner and in Expressionist painting .

As long-time chairman of the Frankenbund, Ullrich also campaigned for culture-related adult education in Aschaffenburg, gave numerous lectures on art and organized excursions at home and abroad. Ullrich died on November 10, 2018 at the age of 93 in his adopted home Leider.

Artistic work

Letterpress techniques as simplified forms of expression

From the very beginning of his artistic career, Gunter Ullrich strived for clear and simplified forms of expression. That is why he chose printmaking as his preferred design medium. First Ullrich dealt with woodcuts and linocuts (1950s and 1960s). In the 1960s he also experimented with a special high-pressure technique: "negative printing".

Experimental gravure printing processes

From the mid-1960s on, Ullrich turned to the gravure printing process of color etching , aquatint and various etching processes. Ullrich worked with a special " glaze erasing technique". Finally, he often combined the etching process with drypoint etching . The artist applied new layers of paint several times to the indentations created by acid or an etching needle , which he printed on top of each other in repeated printing processes. The superimposed glazes create a depth effect with finely graduated color nuances . Each hand-printed sheet is thus a unique color. Ullrich used this to create different color moods with a metal plate.

Sugar blasting technique

Over time, the artist discovered another etching technique for himself, the so-called sugar blasting technique. This is how his characteristic landscapes were created, such as B. “ Main ” from 1975. The sugar blasting technique made it possible for Ullrich to spontaneously produce etchings while traveling : He could brush the sugar ink solution directly onto the metal plate and thus create a design on site (“Pine trees on the slope” from 1982).

Further development of linoleum etching

Another development step led to linoleum etching (linoleum gravure). Gunter Ullrich was the first to deal with linoleum etching as thoroughly as in the work "Schwanberg mit Mond" from 1974. The surface structure of the etched linoleum plate creates a soft, almost watercolor-like surface effect .

Artistic influences

Ullrich's style was generally based strongly on artists of classical modernism . In addition to the German Expressionists , East Asian printmakers such as Hokusai or Hiroshige were among his most important models. Ullrich is a representative of Expressionism and Neo-Expressionism .

Gunter Ullrich Foundation Aschaffenburg (GUSA)

In 2014 the Gunter Ullrich Foundation Aschaffenburg (GUSA) was founded under the administration of the city. On this occasion, Ullrich presented the foundation with more than 550 graphic works, the foundation is supposed to conduct the future scientific and public discussion of his work.

Locations of Ullrich's plants

Ullrich's works hang in a number of museums:

Exhibitions (selection)

Ullrich took part in numerous group exhibitions at home and abroad. He was also recognized as an artist in several solo exhibitions.

Prizes and awards

literature

  • Gunter Ullrich. Graphic artist and painter , Ed .: Museums of the City of Aschaffenburg, 2015, ISBN 978-3-924436-29-2
  • Gunter Ullrich - a life for art ; Catalog for the exhibition of the same name, April 3 to May 16, 2005, publisher: Kunsthalle Jesuitenkirche, 2005, ISBN 3-87707-653-X
  • Gunter Ullrich - prints from 50 years , Martin-von-Wagner-Museum of the University of Würzburg, 2000
  • Gunter Ullrich, painting, graphics: 1985–1995 ; Publisher: Aschaffenburg City Gallery, 1995, ISBN 3-87707-482-0
  • Courage of the pigeons: poetry and graphics at the moment , by Inge Meidinger-Geise and Gunter Ullrich, Lahnstein, Calatra Press Enzinck, 1991, ISBN 3-88138-102-3
  • Between stone and light: poetry a. Graphics , with Inge Meidinger-Geise ; Calatra-Press Willem Enzinck, 1979, ISBN 3-88138-050-7
  • Hanswernfried Muth: Gunter Ullrich: a landscape painter from Mainfranken , Würzburg, Friends of Mainfränkischer Kunst und Geschichte, 1977
  • Madame, I love you! , CD and book Homage to Heinrich Heine on his 200th birthday, recitation by Carsten Pollnick, illustrations by Gunter Ullrich, 1997, ISBN 3-87965-077-2

Web links

Commons : Gunter Ullrich  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Long biography / Gunter Ullrich Foundation Aschaffenburg. Retrieved September 26, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Monumental in its smallest format. Ursula Ullrich-Jacobi died on January 25, 2020 at the age of 93.
  3. ↑ Gunter Ullrich is dead. In Main-Echo , November 10, 2018
  4. ↑ a b c d e work / Gunter Ullrich Foundation Aschaffenburg. Retrieved September 26, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Because of love or even great deeds - welt.de
  6. ^ Exhibition: Gunter Ullrich - prints from 50 years
  7. ^ Museums of the city of Aschaffenburg
  8. ↑ South Hessian accordion assembly
  9. ↑ Stadt Marktheidenfeld - You’re fine there
  10. ^ Home page: Bayerische Einigung eV Bayerische Volksstiftung
personal data
SURNAME Ullrich, Gunter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German artist
DATE OF BIRTH April 7, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Wurzburg
DATE OF DEATH November 10, 2018
Place of death Unfortunately , part of Aschaffenburg