Martin Wank

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Martin Wank (* 1928 in Tiefenried ; † 2000 in Wildpoldsried ) was a German sculptor and bronze caster .

life and work

Martin Wank's memorial in the Irsee Monastery cemetery
St. Ulrich's fountain in Kempten

Martin Wank grew up in the village of Memmenhausen in the district of Günzburg as the second child of master cheese maker Josef Wank and his wife Magdalena nee. Happy up. At first he worked artistically with the woodcut technique , but switched to sculpture at the age of 16 . In Munich he began a corresponding course of study with Professor Stadler at the Academy of Fine Arts , but had to break it off after two years for health reasons.

Martin Wank became a teacher and took over the management of the elementary school in Oberthingau. However, he remained enthusiastic about art throughout his life. In the beginning he made wood carvings and works from terracotta , but his preferred working material soon became bronze . He had a workshop in the nearby town of Osterberg , where he cast his bronze work himself in his own foundry.

Martin Wank was one of the few artists who was awarded the city ​​of Kempten's art prize several times . His work gained national recognition and can be found in many cities in southern Germany. His large-scale sculptures, animal and human figures set up in the outdoor area, often invite the viewer to feel what the artist intended. Wank also designed and manufactured fountains and memorials for public spaces.
In 1963 Wank took part in the Great Art Exhibition in Munich as a member of the Neue Gruppe artists' association .

One of his best-known works is the memorial “Let me sing your sufferings” for the 2,000 euthanasia victims of the Nazi murders in the Kaufbeuren-Irsee sanatorium , which he designed on behalf of the Swabian district and executed in bronze. It was set up in the former prison cemetery near the Irsee Monastery and inaugurated on November 22, 1981.

Personal

Martin Wank was married twice and had three children from his first marriage; his son is the sculptor and bronze caster Bruno Wank . Martin Wank last lived in Wildpoldsried, where he died in 2000.

Works (selection)

  • Memorial for the euthanasia victims of the Nazi era, Irsee Monastery Cemetery
  • Saint Elizabeth (his first large-scale sculpture)
  • The pregnant oyster (1975), a bronze sculpture weighing around 20 quintals, originally for a fountain in the pedestrian zone, now: Kempten building yard
  • The Risen One , bronze, large sculpture, 2.20 m high, Derching cemetery
  • Candle tree and resurrection angel , Church of the Resurrection, Scheidegg
  • Cranes (1990), at the fire station, Wildpoldsried
  • St. Ulrichs fountain , Kempten in front of theSt. Ulrichchurch
  • Reclining nude with knees bent , bronze, 47 × 117 cm
  • Lebensbrunnen , Kurfürstenstrasse, Marktoberdorf

Awards (selection)

Exhibitions (selection)

literature

  • Wank, Martin . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists of the XX. Century. tape 6 , supplements H-Z . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1962, p. 468 .

Web links

Commons : Martin Wank  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Sigi Hutter: Well tells of the fullness of life , May 21, 2007, accessed on all-in.de on December 29, 2015
  2. ↑ Big Art Exhibition Munich 1963 , Süddeutscher Verlag Munich, official exhibition catalog 1963 (p. 120: Wank, Martin, Oberthingau, born 1928 Tiefenried, catalog number 888: portrait (bronze, 33 × 16 cm), room number 29)
  3. ↑ Information on the memorial at irsee.de, accessed on December 29, 2015
  4. ^ Franz Summerer: Von Kunst bis Kuriosum , September 6, 2007, accessed on all-in.de on December 29, 2015
  5. ↑ Plastic by Martin Wank on artnet.de , accessed on December 29, 2015
  6. ^ Exhibition Martin Wank: A Life for Art , accessed on kunst-und-kultur.de on December 29, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Wank, Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sculptor and bronze caster
DATE OF BIRTH 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Oberthingau
DATE OF DEATH 2000
Place of death Wildpoldsried