Willy Müller-Brittnau
Willy Müller-Brittnau (born August 3, 1938 in Winterthur ; † July 8, 2003 in Oftringen ) was a Swiss painter and sculptor .
Life
The young artist, who grew up in Winterthur , worked as a retoucher in Zofingen . He had learned the profession for family reasons, although he would have preferred to become an artist after completing the preliminary course at the Zurich School of Applied Arts in 1954/1955. Until 1963 he kept his job, he also painted and belonged to the Free Group Zofingen until 1965 .
In 1958, the encounter with American action painting became a key experience: he developed a geometrical imagery for which he received attention beyond Switzerland.
The break followed in 1976: he poured all the colors together and painted over the canvases that were left in the studio in dirty black. For him they weren't pictures, but attitudes . Each canvas was accompanied by a short text, e.g. B. «dare to do the impossible».
After a break from painting around 1980, he created violent, gestural pictures, which over the years condensed into geometric compositions. In addition to painting, drawing and graphic prints, he created numerous sculptural works and developed color designs for buildings.
Surname
Willy Müller lived in Brittnau in the 1960s . The Basel museum director at the time, Franz Meyer, therefore called him to distinguish it from namesake Müller-Brittnau. The name stayed, even when the artist moved to Oftringen. At that time, Müller-Brittnau signed his works with w. müller-brittnau.
From 1983 the artist also changed the spelling of his first name from Willy to Willi. He shortened his signature to wmb
estate
The artist's widow, Doris Müller, looks after the large estate in the shared house in Oftringen . The works are accessible on request as part of a private exhibition.
Exhibitions (selection)
Solo exhibitions
- 1965–1970: Galerie Bischofberger, Zurich (various exhibitions in Germany and Italy )
- 1965–2001: Galerie Riehentor, Basel (permanent representative)
- 1969: Kunstverein Kassel , Kassel
- 1969, 1971, 1974: Galerie Krebs, Bern
- 1969, 1973: Galerie Reckermann, Cologne
- 1973: Kunstgesellschaft Zug, Zug
- 1973: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble
- 1977: Galerie Pa Szepan, Gelsenkirchen
- 1977, 1983: Galerie Bossin, Berlin
- 1982: Kunsthaus Aarau, Aarau
- 1986, 1988, 1993, 1997: Galerie Elisabeth Staffelbach, Lenzburg
- 1990, 1996, 2003: Kunsthaus Zofingen, Zofingen
- 1997: Olten town house , Olten
- 1998: Galerie Fahlbusch, Mannheim
- 2002: Galerie GZ 8, Zurich
Group exhibitions
- 1966: Concrete Swiss Art , Kunsthaus Luzern
- 1966: Galerie Zwirner, Cologne
- 1967: 9th Biennale, Tokyo
- 1967: Forms of Color , Kunsthalle Bern
- 1968: Paths and Experiments , Kunsthaus Zürich
- 1969: Young Swiss Art , Stedelijk Museum , Amsterdam
- 1969: 1st Biennale, Nuremberg
- 1969: May Salon, Paris
- 1970: 5th Swiss sculpture exhibition, Biel: Large frame (steel, 1970, with Albert Siegenthaler (1938–1984)) and three frames (ditto)
- 1971: The Swiss Avant-Garde , Cultural Center, New York
- 1973: Kunstmacher 1973 , Museum zu Allerheiligen , Schaffhausen
- 1974: Six Swiss Artists , Emmerich Gallery, New York
- 1974: Swiss Concrete Art , Texas University Museum
- 1986: XLII. Venice Biennale
- 2005: Painted, cut, glued , Olten town hall
architectural art
- 1969/1970: Urdorf Church
- 1970: Aarau Cantonal Hospital (plastic)
- 1970/1972: Emmenbrücke community center
- 1973/1974: Primary school Niederlenz
- 1974: Aarau Cantonal Hospital
- 1974/1975: Langwiesen primary school in Winterthur
- 1975: Trade school in Biel
- 1978: Institute for Brain Research Zurich
- 1982: SBB factory in Olten
- 1983/1984: SBG -Devisenzentrum Zürich
- 1986: Winterthur main station
- 1988: Aarau main post office (plastic), dismantled in 2013
- 1991: Aarau trade school
- 1991: District Hospital Muri
- 1994: Aarau Cantonal School (plastic)
- 1994: Niederlenz school building
- 1996: SBB General Directorate Bern
literature
Illustrated books
- 1984: Müller-Brittnau. Text: Katherina Vasella. Waser Verlag, Buchs-Zürich, ISBN 3-908080-08-8 .
Catalogs (selection)
- 1997: Catalog for the exhibition in the Olten town hall. Text: Peter Killer.
- 2005: painted, cut, glued. Art Association Olten. Text: Peter Killer.
Web links
- Sabine Altorfer: Müller-Brittnau, Willy. In: Sikart
- Müller-Brittnau, Willy (1938–2003) on kunstbreite.ch
Individual evidence
- ↑ Müller-Brittnau with contact to the estate / private exhibition
- ↑ Figure
- ↑ Figure
- ↑ Willy Müller-Brittnau ( Memento from June 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) on the Aargau website on art in public space.
- ↑ Willy Müller-Brittnau on the website of the Edition Winterthur Foundation.
- ↑ Post has Würfelplasitk demolished because it cannot find any buyers. In: Aargauer Zeitung , February 21, 2013, accessed on June 9, 2016.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Müller-Brittnau, Willy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Müller, Willy (real name); Müller-Brittnau, Willi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss painter and sculptor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 3, 1938 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Winterthur |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 8, 2003 |
| Place of death | Oftringen |