Günther Förg

During his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Günther Förg (born 1952 in Füssen, died 2013 in Freiburg im Breisgau) worked almost exclusively with monochrome shades of grey and black. It was the beginning of a lifelong devotion to conceptualism. In his later works, he integrated a more colourful palette, as well as sweeping lines that captivate with a particular freedom of form and sensuality.

In the four works on paper too, one senses his interest in structures. While the coloured sections are shaped by the line and run dynamically through the picture, the dark ones have an effect through their compact flatness – sometimes they lie above the line structures, sometimes they are covered by them. In the tension between dynamics and tranquillity, the impression of space is created. Förg’s work, which encompasses painting, graphics and photography, as well as sculpture and spatial installations, resists fixed categorisation: it is an experimentation with colours and forms, materials and media, with content and statements, with figuration and abstraction – an ongoing search and exploration.

Günther Förg taught painting at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design and held a professorship for painting and graphic arts at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich from 1999 until his death. His works are represented in major museums, including Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum der Gegenwart, Berlin; Ludwig Museum, Cologne; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Tate Modern, London.