Martin Kaufmann

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Martin Kaufmann: Notenblatt, 2011, photography
Martin Kaufmann: November incident. 2013. Paper cut. 23.5 x 19 cm
Martin Kaufmann: Holder-Kompost-Watteau. 1990. 193 x 130 cm. Oil on cotton
Martin Kaufmann: Moneglia (from the series from the eye end on the horizon ). 2007. Paper cut. 21 × 19 cm
Martin Kaufmann: Equator Pot. 2013. Paper cut. 22 x 17.8 cm

Martin Kaufmann (born October 22, 1958 in Chur ) is a Swiss artist . He works in the fields of painting , drawing , sculpture , building design and photography . Celestial mechanics is one of the central themes of his art .

life and work

Martin Kaufmann grew up in the Werkbundsiedlung Neubühl in Zurich , where he now lives and works again. As a teenager he wanted to become a biologist. Even as a child he was more interested in the hustle and bustle around him than Lego and hurry, instead of running after a ball, he preferred to stand by the lake with his fishing rod and concentrate on the movements in the water. The theory in physics and chemistry that a biologist has to master was not his and he decided to paint more freely. From 1978 to 1981 he studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. Back in Zurich, he was one of the founders of the Kunsthaus Oerlikon .

Martin Kaufmann is a sedentary and hardly needs a change of location for inspiration. In addition to Zurich, Liguria has become the center of his life. In London , Martin Kaufmann was confronted on the one hand with minimal art and on the other hand with the violent painting of Frank Auerbach . The National Gallery with Piero della Francesca , Jan van Eyck and Holbein became just as important for him as object lessons .

In echoes of the painting by the Neue Wilde , which caused a sensation with the exhibition “The New Spirit in Painting”, the gestural element was in the foreground in its early days. Even then, Kaufmann tended towards the flat and symbolic and quickly developed into a master of condensation. Holding on to the representational, he reduces the surrounding world of beings and things to ciphers, which he allows to merge into a poetic world of images. This also includes playing with words and concepts.

In addition to oil painting , Kaufmann, who prefers small formats, mainly uses paper cutting. He also creates objects and works as an installation, often using tools and apparatus. Martin Kaufmann is a surveyor. A central theme in his work is celestial mechanics with the course of the stars and its effects on light and shadow. The motif of the house, which he reduced to a heptahedron , also made as a small concrete sculpture, plays an eminent role . He not only measures the house and locates it in a coordinate system; it is also a cell, the original form of dwelling. Kaufmann uses the geometry as a guide and always detects deviations. The close observer likes to get involved in the unpredictable and is amazed at the transformations that even the most banal objects are capable of.

Awards and orders

  • 1986: Grants from the Canton of Aargau
  • 1999: Contribution from the Board of Trustees of the Canton of Aargau
  • 2000/2001: Work is purchased by the Canton of Zurich
  • 2008: Works purchase by the City of Zurich
  • 2011: Art and building project of the city of Zurich, office building Wiedikon

Exhibitions

  • 1986: Founding exhibition at Kunsthaus Oerlikon
  • 1987: Solo exhibition with Hans Schürch, Zurich
  • 1990: Solo exhibition at the Ursula Rövekamp Gallery, Zurich
  • 1991: Shedhalle Zurich artist project
  • 1993: “Beautiful painting”, Helmhaus, Zurich
  • 1993: Solo exhibition at Ursula Rövekamp Gallery, Zurich
  • 1993: Solo exhibition at Kunsthaus Oerlikon
  • 1997: Solo exhibition Galerie Ursula Rövekamp, ​​Zurich
  • 1997: Solo exhibition at Galerie Pendo, Zurich
  • 2000: Solo exhibition in Binz 39, Zurich
  • 2004: Scholarship exhibition in Helmhaus, Zurich
  • 2005: "Local brightening" Helmhaus, Zurich
  • 2006: Exhibition Galerie Pendo, Zurich
  • 2008: Solo exhibition at Galerie Hufschmid, Zurich
  • 2009: Exhibition Galerie Pendo, Zurich
  • 2011: Group exhibition at Galerie Hufschmid, Zurich
  • 2013: Solo exhibition Field Institute Hombroich, DE
  • 2014: “Departure to Kythera” solo exhibition “Im Garten”, Zurich
  • 2015: Group exhibition “Untimely Considerations”, Oxyd, Winterthur
  • 2015: Group exhibition "Wahn Welt Wellen 1955-2015", ArtDock, Zurich
  • 2016: Solo exhibition, Interior Atelier Sert, Zurich
  • 2017 and 2019: Guest at Ian Anüll “Peinture en Promo”, House for Art Uri, Altdorf
 und Musée Jurassien des Arts, Moutier

literature

  • Christoph Doswald: Catalog for the artist project in the Shedhalle Zurich (together with Martin Senn). Shedhalle Publishing House, Zurich 1991.
  • Caroline Kesser and Simon Oberholzer: picture book. Rothe Drucke publishing house, Bern 2009.
  • Caroline Kesser and Peter Stamm: Brochure on the art and building project Amtshaus Wiedikon. Municipal Office for Building Construction, Zurich 2011.
  • Peter Killer: Northwest, Ostwerdn, Sondwert, Wensdort, Hombroich. Catalog of the solo exhibition at the Field Institute Hombroich DE. Self-published, Zurich 2013.

Web links

Commons : Martin Kaufmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roman Hollenstein: A house full of pictures. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , July 2, 1986.
  2. ^ Willi Wottreng: Kunsthaus Oerlikon - Return of a ghost. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , February 15, 2004.
  3. ^ Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK. 15 January 1981 - 18 March 1981.
personal data
SURNAME Kaufmann, Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss artist
DATE OF BIRTH October 22, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Chur