Paul Greven

Paul Greven

Paul Greven (born October 4, 1934 in Eschweiler ) is a German painter and sculptor who is particularly known for his sculptures made of natural materials, some of which can be walked on.

Life

Award of the Rhineland Taler 2015 to Paul Greven

Paul Greven studied from 1952 to 1956 at the Werkkunstschule Aachen with Carl Schneiders , Willi Kohl and Ernst Günther Grimme . Then he was a student at the Cologne factory schools with Friedrich Vordemberge , August Hoff and Paul Bender until 1960 . From 1960 to 1961, he continued studying at the Berlin University of Fine Arts with Hans Uhlmann .

Greven has been working as a freelance artist in Cologne and Bad Münstereifel since 1962 . He had numerous solo and group exhibitions, including four exhibitions in collaboration with the City of Cologne's cultural office.

Since 1997 he has lived and worked on his farm in Bad Münstereifel- Honerath . There he created the Kunsthof Greven with many large sculptures, with annual exhibitions with numerous artists from the Eifel and the Cologne- Bonn area , all of whom deal with the topic of large natural sculptures and the rural surroundings.

In 2015, Greven was awarded the Rheinlandtaler by the Rhineland Regional Council.

plant

Opening of the Trojan horse: v. l. No. from 3rd person: District Administrator Günter Rosenke, G. Delavekouras (Greek Consul General), Paul Greven, A. Henk-Hollstein (Chairwoman of the Rhineland Regional Assembly), Rita Greven and far right: S. Preiser-Marian (Mayor of Bad Münstereifel)

Greven's canvas is nature. On his 7,500 square meter area with a panorama of the Eifel he shows his works, all of which fit into nature.

Here he created many large, partially accessible natural sculptures. His objects have the opportunity to adapt to nature and the place, to continue to grow, to deform, to change, to decay, to present themselves to the viewer in different ways, to involve the visitor and to motivate him. For Greven, only natural materials, especially wood, come into question for the construction of his large objects, as this material can be easily integrated into the Eifel landscape.

"For his art, he uses only natural materials, making the art-loving visitors at committing placed immediately in a very pleasant atmosphere. The expressiveness of his sculptures and portrayals of people is really impressive. "

His life-size figures are modeled on a welded wire frame with hexagonal mesh. Then several layers of a cellulose-glue mixture are applied. Finally, the color is done with natural oil paints.

The Kunsthof Greven cannot be compared to a conventional sculpture park. In Honerath you can find a living place, an artistic building site. The work of an individual artist can be viewed here, who combines the role of an architect, structural engineer and craftsman. With his total work of art, with the Kunsthof Greven, the artist sets fresh impulses for the common and stressed art presentations.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions (selection)

• 1994: Images of People, Cologne
• 1994: Cologne Sketches, Cologne
• 1995: A piece of the Eifel - plants and flowers, Eifel
• 1996: Art on the farm - animals, Eifel
• 1997: Life on the farm - people at work, Eifel
• 1998: Visit to the farm - invitation of well-known people, Eifel
• 1999: Village festival in the Mutscheid , Eifel
• 2000: The goats are coming - traveling exhibition from the Eifel to Cologne, Eifel
• 2001: The clay cave of Honerath, Eifel

Honerather sculpture symposium

Annual symposia have been held at the Kunsthof since 2002, in which artists mainly from the Eifel and the Cologne-Bonn area take part. These art weekends all revolved around the respective large sculptures by Paul Greven:

• 2002: The chicken house - pavilion with many artificial chickens and other animals. Contributing artists: Andreas J. Finke, Susanne Greven, Tina Grunert, Annebarbe Kau, Adi Meier-Grolman, Peter Pick, Sander Rood, Inge Schmidt and Andreas Wagner
• 2003: The Eifel-Arche - plastic made from many Eifel plants. Contributing artist: Volker Pannemann
• 2004 and 2005: The Klause - meditation house made of wood, clay and straw with a stone roof. Contributing artists: Mary-Noele Dupuis, Joseph W. Kutscheidt, Jan Leven, Mauser, Volker Pannemann, Peter Pick, Klaus Schmitt
• 2006: The pyramid of life - accessible step pyramid over 4 m high. Contributing artists: Volker Pannemann, Anita Wagener, Jürgen Diekmannshenke and Hans K. Mies
• 2007: The goat tower - over 12 m high, accessible tower with many artificial goats. Contributing artists: Susanne Greven, Eva-Maria Hermanns and Volker Pannemann
• 2008: The Scheunengesellschaft - Scheunenmuseum with a society of a special kind. Contributing artists: Andreas Bliemel, Eva-Maria Hermanns, Willi Krings, Gerda Nettesheim, Peter Nettesheim, Volker Pannemann, Astrid and Herbert Rosner, Hubert Schaffmeister and Karin Schaffmeister
• 2009: The Teatro Paolo - open-air theater based on the Greek / Roman model for approx. 140 people. Contributing artists: Volker Pannemann, Herbert Rosner and Andreas J. Finke
• 2010: Frieze of the working peasants - relief-like mural in the studio, length 21 m, height 2.30 m
• 2010: The gallery in the goat barn - 4 rooms for temporary exhibitions. Contributing artists: Peter Hundeck, Gesa Krieg, Dirk Schmitt, Volker Pannemann and Birgit Sommer
• 2011: Hello New Zealand - Walkable funnel spiral, diameter approx. 20 m and depth approx. 6 m. Contributing artists: Dirk Schmitt, Volker Pannemann, Conrad Franz and Karla-M. Idol
• 2012: The walk-in spaceship with figurehead - galactic work of art, diameter approx. 9 m and height approx. 6 m. Contributing artists: Dirk Schmitt, Martin Perscheid , Andreas Bliemel, Andreas J. Finke, Conny Franz, Susanne and Jakob Greven, Meike, Oskar and Emil Greven, Ralph Kleiner, Peter Nettesheim, Volker Pannemann, Herbert Rosner, Günther J. Schaefer, Hubert Schmitt and Birgit Sommer
• 2013 and 2014: The Romans in Honerath - a special kind of ground monument with excavation site and the temple of Diana. Contributing artists: Gisela Krohn , Klaus Tenner, Dietmar Hofmann, Barbara Böhringer, Susanne Greven, Günther J. Schaefer, Dirk Schmitt, Martin Perscheid, Ursula Lieberz-Müller, Dietrich Schubert
• 2015: The Sentinel - A very special soldier keeps watch in the sentry house
• 2016: The Trojan Horse in Honerath - Approx. 5.5 m high and approx. 7 m long walkable horse. Contributing artists: Susanne Greven, Franz-Josef Kochs, Petra Kremer-Horster, Gisela Krohn, Gaby Kutz, Ursula Lieberz-Müller, Martin Perscheid, Dirk Schmitt, Marta Pieczonko, Dietrich Schubert, Klaus Tenner, Inge Van Kann and Rüdiger Westphal
• 2016: The School of Athens in Honerath - wooden relief from ancient Greek culture
• 2017: Das Boot - Wall relief on the refugee disaster in the Mediterranean. Contributing artists: Susanne Greven, Axel Höptner, Franz-Josef Kochs, Ursula Lieberz-Müller, Martin Perscheid, Christine Santema, Dirk Schmitt, Dietrich Schubert and Klaus Tenner
• 2018: The refugee trek - a 20 m long trek with life-size figures, animals and objects

literature

• Hans-Werner Bott: The clay cave of Honerath by Paul Greven. Self-published, Cologne 2002, pp. 2–3.
• Heinz Küpper : The clay cave of Honerath by Paul Greven. Self-published, Bad Münstereifel 2002, pp. 4–33.
• Christine Badke: Visiting the Rhineland - The Barn Society . In: Yearbook 2009 Euskirchen District, pp. 114–118.
• Christina zu Mecklenburg: The Life Pyramid: Processes of an Artistic Construction Site. Self-published 2007, pp. 5–9
• Christina zu Mecklenburg: Artistic construction site - Honerath sculptor symposium. In: Junge Kunst , No. 62, April – June 2005. Ritterbach Verlag, pp. 22–27.

Web links

Commons : Paul Greven  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Homepage of Paul Greven

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rhineland thaler award 2015 for Paul Greven
2. ↑ Dietmar Simsheuser: AhRTISTS - The Ahr Valley Artists Forum
3. ↑ The Clay Cave of Honerath by Paul Greven , 2002