Rudolf Graf (painter)

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Rudolf Graf (born March 22, 1936 in Neupetershain ; † March 14, 1981 in Cottbus ) was a German painter . His oeuvre includes paintings , watercolors , drawings and prints as well as architecture-related art. Graf lived in Dresden and Cottbus. From 1979 until his death he was chairman of the Cottbus district association of the Association of Fine Artists of the GDR ( VBKD ).

Life

Rudolf Graf was born on March 22, 1936 in Neupetershain near Cottbus as the son of the plumber Helmut Graf and the gardener Hildegard Graf. After attending primary school, he completed an apprenticeship as a commercial applicant in Senftenberg. He then worked in Senftenberg and Lauchhammer. In 1959 he began studying at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts . His teachers were Rudolf Bergander , Heinz Lohmar and Paul Michaelis , with whom he had a close friendship even after graduating from college.

After finishing his studies in 1964 (university diploma) he worked as a freelance artist in Cottbus. A study contract with the Black Pump Combine provided the necessary material security. During this time the Cottbus district was developed into the coal and energy center of the GDR and, with the associated social changes, offered young artists many development opportunities. In Cottbus he met colleagues with whom he felt artistically connected. These included u. a. Dieter Dressler , Günther Friedrich , Gerhard Knabe, Heinz Mamat and Jürgen von Woyski . He was especially friendly with Wolfgang Wegener from Potsdam.

Before starting work in Cottbus, he married Maria Roehl in Dresden in 1965. The marriage had three children.

In 1967 Rudolf Graf became a member of the Association of Fine Artists of the GDR (VBKD) and in 1979 chairman of the district association. His artistic spectrum included paintings, watercolors, drawings and prints. The often large-format paintings, usually commissioned works for companies and institutions, were of particular importance to him. Another field of activity emerged from the area of ​​building-related art. Rudolf Graf used ceramics, enamelled metal elements as well as glass, concrete and wood for this. In this context, the city fountain (“cancer fountain”) created in 1969 in Cottbus together with the architect Gerhard Guder (broken off in 2002) should be mentioned.

During his student days, Dresden and its surroundings and the Darß were the most important places for his artistic inspiration. After the change of location it became Cottbus, the Lausitz with the emerging industrial landscape and above all the people in their changed environment. In addition, as a member of the VBKD, various trips abroad opened up new opportunities for him. Artistic reflections in his work were found among others. a. the trips to the former Soviet Union and above all to Mongolia .

His pictures of the Mongolian steppe landscape and its people were among the exhibits in the exhibition of the Cottbus art collection, which opened two years after his death in 1983: "Rudolf Graf, paintings - graphics - architecture-related art". The catalog available for this purpose is u. a. a catalog raisonné is attached. It contains 174 works of painting, 77 watercolors, 2 pastels , 203 drawings, 46 prints, 20 occasional graphics (greeting cards, invitations) and 20 objects of architecture-related art.

Rudolf Graf died on March 14, 1981 at the age of 44.

Collections

Grafs Cottbus "city" or "cancer fountain"

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

  • Carl Blechen Klub, Cottbus, 1965
  • Görlitz Municipal Art Collection , 1969
  • District Museum Cottbus, Branitz Castle , 1969
  • Eisenhüttenstadt District Culture House , 1969
  • Small gallery Elsterwerda , 1981
  • Cottbus art collection, "Rudolf Graf, paintings - graphics - architecture-related art", March 12 to May 22, 1983
  • Small gallery Wilhelm Pieck-Stadt Guben , 1985
  • Galerie Packschuppen, Glashütte, “Rudolf Graf 1936–1981, Painting and Drawings”, on the occasion of the artist's 80th birthday from February 7th to April 20th, 2016

Participation in exhibitions and a.

  • Nationalgalerie Berlin , exhibition "Our Contemporary", 1964
  • Glockenspielpavillon Dresden , exhibition "Cottbus artists", 1965
  • Albertinum Dresden , VI. German art exhibition, 1967
  • Frankfurt / Oder , Young Art Gallery, “Cottbus Artists”, 1969
  • Albertinum Dresden, VII. German Art Exhibition, 1973
  • Grosseto , Italy, exhibition of graphic artists from Cottbus, 1976
  • Albertinum Dresden, VIII Art Exhibition of the GDR, 1977
  • Targovich, Bulgaria, International Plenary Exhibition, 1978
  • Albertinum Dresden, IX. Art exhibition of the GDR, 1982
  • All art exhibitions in the Cottbus district, 1966–1982
  • Galerie Hebecker Weimar , Rudolf Graf, Werner Haselhuhn, Gottfried Sommer in the 85th year of the painter and university professor Paul Michaelis, June 26, 1999

literature

  • Kunstsammlung Cottbus: Catalog for the exhibition: Rudolf Graf, paintings - graphics - architecture-related art, March 12 to May 22, 1983. (Contents include: Heinrich Schierz: Creative intensity of life and work. Paul Michaelis: Point of view, courage and decisiveness. Biographical information , Exhibitions, catalog raisonné.)
  • Manfred Jerke: Large panels and a gray cardigan - the painter and graphic artist Rudolf Graf died 20 years ago. In: Stadtverwaltung Cottbus - Press Office Historischer Heimatverein Cottbus (Hrsg.): Cottbuser Heimathefte 2001, noteworthy things from the city and the surrounding area.
  • Art Association Glashütte e. V. together with Maria Graf: Catalog for the exhibition in the Gallery Packschuppen Glashütte: Rudolf Graf 1936–1981 on the occasion of the 80th birthday of the artist from 7.2 to 20.4.2016, paintings and drawings. (Contents include: Arno Neumann: Farewell on the move. )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Catalog of the Cottbus art collection for the Rudolf Graf exhibition , Painting - Graphics - Architecture-related art, March 12 to May 22, 1983, p. 20.
  2. ↑ ibid, p. 20.
  3. ↑ ibid, p. 86.
  4. ↑ ibid, pp. 92-110.
  5. ↑ ibid, p. 22.
  6. ↑ Exhibition website
  7. ↑ ibid, p. 22.
personal data
SURNAME Count, Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter
DATE OF BIRTH March 22, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Neupetershain
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1981
Place of death cottbus