#hans werdehausen

[germanpostwarmodern]

Of all the members of the artist group „junger westen“, which existed between 1948 and 1962 and among others included Emil Schumacher, Thomas Grochowiak and Heinrich Siepmann, Hans Werdehausen is the least known: although he was one of the artists included in the „Duitse kunst na 1945“ exhibition at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 1954 and also took part in the second documenta in 1959 he today is largely forgotten. This circumstance likely has to do with his untimely death in 1977 at the age of only 67 but also with his early withdrawal from the art world in 1971 when he retreated to Bödexen, then a small village and today a quarter of the town of Höxter in the eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Of decisive importance for his artistic development was a one-year stay on the island of Sicily in 1936 which followed his education at Kassel Art Academy between 1932 and 1935. During these years Werdehausen predominantly drew landscapes and animals, painted figures and nude portraits, a figurative idiom he replaced with abstraction after wartime service and his consecutive move to Essen in 1947. His strong contour lines in the following years developed a life of their own and found expression in rhythmical, very musical curvatures. Form becomes the primary content in his paintings.

In the mid-1950s Werdehausen’s lines become ever more vibrant, intensify and crack in grids on colorful backgrounds. By accident Werdehausen in 1959 discovers the allure of torn off posters and develops highly individual décollages. With his late works the artist somewhat returned to his figurative roots as the contours of human bodies reappeared on his canvases.

To this day the most substantial publication is the present catalogue published alongside a posthumous retrospective of Werdehausen’s work at, among others, Städtische Kunsthalle Recklinghausen in 1979: the small publication not only contains paintings and drawings from all work phases but also an emphatical appreciation by fellow artist Thomas Grochowiak. It follows the development of Werdehausen’s oeuvre from a first-hand perspective and merges a work analysis with personal anecdotes that alone makes this small volume worthwhile.

#hans werdehausen #art book #exhibition catalogue #art informel #informel #abstract art #german art #art history #vintage book

[ftnbooks-blog]

One of the reasons i decided to write this almost daily blog was to expand my knowledge on art and artists from lats century and that is why i stumbled upon Hans Werdehausen., An artis which i did not know of , but who painters touch is typical for the decades hew was producing his art within. Abstraction, Constructivism and cubism mix together and belnd into a personal style.

I recently bought the Recklinghausen catalogue from 1958, which is now available at www.ftn-books.com  and i must say that i like his work. If i had a house with 50’s and 60’s furniture there is no doubt in my mind and i would heartely recommend his art for decoration . These compositions are so typical for the Fifties and Sixties and certwainly have a quality of their own. Maybe in the future i must look for his works at auction 😉

  Hans Werdehausen (1910-1977) One of the reasons i decided to write this almost daily blog was to expand my knowledge on art and artists from lats century and that is why i stumbled upon Hans Werdehausen., An artis which i did not know of , but who painters touch is typical for the decades hew was producing his art within.

#fifties #kunsthalle #painting #recklinghausen #sixties #werdehausen

[duisburgrd-blog]

RuhrKunstMuseen widmen dem "jungen westen" eine Ausstellungsreihe

RuhrKunstMuseen widmen dem “jungen westen” eine Ausstellungsreihe

(idr). 70 Jahre ist es her, dass sich im Ruhrgebiet eine Gruppe junger Künstler zusammenfand, um den Aufbruch in die Moderne nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg mit Leben zu füllen. Unter dem Titel “junger westen” arbeiteten sie gemeinsam an neuen Ideen. Besonders die Kerngruppe um Thomas Grochowiak, Hans Werdehausen, Gustav Deppe, Heinrich Siempann, Emil Schumacher und Ernst Hermanns machte das…

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