Ursula Benker-Schirmer
Ursula Benker-Schirmer (* 1927 in Ragnit , East Prussia ; † October 3 or 4, 2020 in Selb ) was a German tapestry designer and manufacturer.
Career
Benker-Schirmer first studied in 1947/48 at the Burg Giebichenstein art college in Halle (Saale) and in 1949 switched to the master craft school in Berlin-Charlottenburg . A Franco-German scholarship enabled her to study at the Ecole Nationale d'Arts Decoratifs in Aubusson with Jean Lurçat from 1951 to 1953 . She later studied in Paris with the artists Marc Saint-Saëns and Marcel Gromaire , who taught her tapestry and painting. After her return to Germany she was a master class studentIrma Goecke .
In 1957 she founded her own studio in Marktredwitz , where she was married to Karlheinz Benker, a co-owner of the textile company Joh. Benker GmbH & Co KG. In 1971 she took over the management of the tapestry manufactory in Nuremberg for three years. During this time she influenced the manufacture's style with the style acquired during her stay in France. In 1975 she founded the Franconian Gobelin Manufactory in Marktredwitz . In addition to her own work, she also implemented designs by other artists, including Henry Moore , Herbert Bayer , Georg Meistermann and Heinz Trökes .
Benker-Schirmer's main work is the monumental tapestry of reconciliation for the cathedral in Chichester, southern England . Further works can be found in the town hall of Bayreuth, in the Johanneskirche in Erlangen, the Stephanuskirche in Hagen and in the University of Regensburg .
Ursula Benker-Schirmer died in early October 2020 at the age of 93, possibly from complications with a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Exhibitions
- 1955: German tapestries , New Munich Collection
- 1955–57: Contemporary European Tapestry , traveling exhibition in the USA
- 1971: Exposition de Fédération Internationale des Associations Culturelles Féminines , Paris
- 1975: Tapestry in Germany after 1945 , Municipal Art Collection, Ludwigshafen
- 1978: Culture and Business Weeks in Houston , Houston / Texas
- 1978: First German Tapestry Biennial - Special Show: Tapestry Production Techniques , German Museum Munich
- 1980: Second Biennale of German Tapestry , Osnabrück Cultural History Museum
- 1982/83: Third Biennale of German Tapestry , German Textile Museum Krefeld-Linn
- 1983: Exhibition IMAK , Denver / Colorado
- 1984: The art of tapestry , FGM exhibition Freiheitshalle Hof / Saale
- 1984: GEDOK annual exhibition , Munich
- 1988/89: WORLD TAPESTRY TODAY , international traveling exhibition in Melbourne, Chicago, Memphis, New York, Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Aubusson
- 1990: Exhibition of artists d. District of Wunsiedel in Pardubice / Czech Republic and Veszprém / Hungary
- 1991: Villa Dessauer BBK-Upper Franconia , Bamberg
- 2002: The art of tapestry , Marktredwitz
Awards
- 1990: Culture Prize of the Upper Franconian Foundation
- 1998: Culture Prize of the Upper Franconian Economy (donated by the Chamber of Commerce for Upper Franconia)
- 2003: Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon
- 2007: Bavarian Order of Merit
literature
- Katja Domdei: Ursula Benker-Schirmer. German tapestry art of the 20th century. VDG Weimar, Weimar 2007
Web links
- Literature by and about Ursula Benker-Schirmer in the catalog of the German National Library
- http://www.gobelin-manufaktur.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marktredwitz artist is dead: Ursula Benker-Schirmer dies of corona consequences. Report on Radio Euroherz , October 6, 2020. Accessed October 6, 2020.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Benker-Schirmer, Ursula |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German tapestry designer and manufacturer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ragnite |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 3, 2020 or October 4, 2020 |
| Place of death | Same |