Michael Buthe (1 August 1944 – 15 November 1994) was a German artist who lived and worked between
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
. He exhibited widely throughout Europe during his life and is known for his eclectic and prolific oeuvre which encompasses painting, sculpture, and installation.
Life and career
Michael Buthe was born on 1 August 1944 in
Sonthofen
Sonthofen is the southernmost town of Germany, located in the Oberallgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. Neighbouring Oberstdorf is situated 14 km farther south but is not classified as a town. In 2005, Sonthofen was awarded "Alpenstadt des ...
in southern Germany to a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
family. From 1964 to 1968, he studied at the Werkkunstschule, Kassel, now the Kunsthochschule Kassel. Thereafter he studied at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf as master student of
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( , ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He was a founder of a provocative art mov ...
Kunsthalle Bern
The Kunsthalle Bern is a ''Kunsthalle'' (art exposition hall) on the Helvetiaplatz in Bern, Switzerland.
It was built in 1917–1918 by the Kunsthalle Bern Association and opened on October 5, 1918. Since then, it has been the site of numerous ex ...
the year after. Some of his most notable works during this time consisted of paintings made by cutting into the fabric and exposing the stretcher bars.
In the 1970s, Buthe began to travel extensively to Africa and the Middle East, most notably to Morocco where he took up extended residences in the cities of Essaouira and Marrakesh. His foreign stays heavily influenced his work, incorporating the sights and sounds of the countries he visited into his visual language. The experiences likewise spurned on engagements with spiritual and mythological elements in Buthes’ work.
Buthe likewise began to create installation works from the 1970s onward. In 1972, he attempted to bring
Gnawa
The Gnawa (or Gnaoua, Ghanawa, Ghanawi, Gnawi'; Arabic: ڭناوة) are an ethnic group inhabiting Morocco.
The name Gnawa probably originated in the indigenous language of North Africa and the Sahara Desert. The phonology of this term accordi ...
musicians to
documenta 5
documenta 5 was the fifth edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 30 June and 8 October 1972 in Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hes ...
, envisioning them performing in traditional tents. Given their minority status in Morocco—therefore lacking Moroccan passports—the musicians were barred from performing internationally. Though he was unable to fully realize this project, Buthe was galvanized to further develop his immersive, large-scale works.
Buthe was also a professor at the
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová ...
from 1983 until his death at the age of 50 in 1994. Amongst others, Klaus Girnus and Stefan Kürten were two of his master students. Despite enjoying success throughout Europe, he was relatively under-discussed amongst his contemporaries in America, but has come under recent re-examination with a number of posthumous solo and group exhibitions.
His work was well collected by museums both during his lifetime and in recent years. Significant representations of his work can be found in S.M.A.K - Stedelijk Museum voor Actguele Kunst, Ghent;
Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
Kolumba
The Kolumba (previously Diözesanmuseum, "Diocesan Museum") is an art museum in Cologne, Germany. It is located on the site of the former St. Kolumba, Cologne, St. Kolumba church, and run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne, Archdiocese ...
, the Art Museum of the
Archdiocese of Cologne
The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.
History
The Electorate of Cologn ...
, as well as the
Museum Ludwig
Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy ...
, also in Cologne.
Selected exhibitions
Selected solo exhibitions
* 2016: ''Michael Buthe and Ingvild Goetz - A friendship,''
Sammlung Goetz
The Goetz Collection (Sammlung Goetz) is a private collection of contemporary art in Munich, Germany. It opened in 1992. The collection is owned and continually being enlarged by the former gallery dealer Ingvild Goetz, who presents the collectio ...
, Munich
* 2015-16: ''Michael Buthe,'' Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland; S.M.A.K. - Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent; Haus der Kunst, Munich
* 2013: ''Secrets,'' Alexander and Bonin, New York
* 2009: ''Michael Buthe: The Angel and His Shadow'', Arp-Museum Bahnhof, Rolandseck
* 1999: ''Michael Buthe:'' ''Frühe Zeichnungen, Collagen und Tagebücher'',
Kunsthalle Bielefeld
The Kunsthalle Bielefeld is a modern and contemporary art museum in Bielefeld, Germany. It was designed by Philip Johnson in 1968, and paid for by the businessman and art patron Rudolf August Oetker.Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart
* 1985: ''Michel de la Sainte Beauté,'' Galerie Moderne Kunst Dietmar Werle, Cologne
* 1980: ''Die endlose Reise der Bilder,''
Museum Folkwang
Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...
, Essen, Germany
* 1975: ''Colonia, Agrippinensis, Babylonia, Africanus, Dei,'' Galerie Abis, Berlin
* 1973: ''Le Dieux de Babylon,''
Kölnischer Kunstverein
The Kölnischer Kunstverein is an art museum in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany. It is named after the historical art society of the same name.
The ''Kölnischer Kunstverein'' was a " Kunstverein" established in Cologne in 1839. ...
, Cologne; Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland
* 1971: ''Hommage an die Sonne,'' Galerie Toni Gerber, Bern, Switzerland
Palais de Tokyo
The Palais de Tokyo (''Tokyo Palace'') is a building dedicated to modern and contemporary art, located at 13 avenue du Président-Wilson, facing the Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The eastern wing of the building belongs to ...
and other venues, Paris
* 2001: ''70er Jahre,'' Kunstmusem Luzern, Switzerland
* 1995: ''Auf Papier,''
Schirn Kunsthalle
The Schirn Kunsthalle is a Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Germany, located in the old city between the Römer and the Frankfurt Cathedral. The Schirn exhibits both modern and contemporary art. It is the main venue for temporary art exhibitions in F ...
, Frankfurt
* 1989: ''Refigured Painting – The German Image'',
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and wa ...
; Sarah Campbell Blaffer Gallery, University of Houston; The Winnipeg Art Gallery; Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario; Archer M. Huntington Gallery, University of Texas, Austin;
Queens Museum
The Queens Museum, formerly the Queens Museum of Art, is an art museum and educational center located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the borough of Queens in New York City, United States. The museum was founded in 1972, and has among its pe ...
, New York
* 1982: ''
documenta 7
''documenta 7'' was the seventh edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 19 June and 28 October 1982 in Kassel, West Germany. The artistic director was Rudi Fuchs
Rudolf Herman "Rudi" Fuchs (born ...
documenta 6
documenta 6 was the sixth edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 24 June and 2 October 1977 in Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hess ...
,'' Kassel
* 1972: ''
documenta 5
documenta 5 was the fifth edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 30 June and 8 October 1972 in Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hes ...
,'' Kassel
* 1970: ''Jetzt,'' Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle, Cologne
* 1969: ''When Attitudes Become Form: Live in Your Head,'' Kunsthalle Bern; Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld;
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...
Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
, London
* Kunstmuseum Luzern
*
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, New York
* Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
* Museum der Stadt Ratingen
* Musée d’Art Moderne de Saint-Etienne
* FRAC - Rhône-Alpes, IAC - Institut d’Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne
Selected bibliography
* ''Michael Buthe und Ingvild Goetz''. ex. cat. with text by Ingvild Goetz, Udo Kier, Jürgen Klauke, Karsten Löckemann, Dominikus Müller, Marcel Odenbach, Ulrike Rosenbach, Antje von Graevenitz, Stephan von Wiese. Munich: Hatje Cantz and Sammlung Goetz, 2016
* ''Michael Buthe Retrospective'', ex. cat. with text by Fanni Fetzer, Philippe Van Cauteren, Okwui Enwezor, Martin Germann, Dominik Müller, Heinz Stahlhut, and Ulrich Wilmes. Kunstmuseum Luzern, S.M.A.K. Gent, Haus Der Kunst, Munich: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2015
* Franke, Marietta. ''Der Absurde Blick''. Pieterlen: Peter Lang, 2010
* Müller, Karsten. ''Michael Buthe: Der Engel und sein Schatten'', ex. cat. Bielefeld: Kerber Verlag, 2009
* ''Buthe: Michel de la Sainte Beauté'', ex. cat. with text by Paolo Bianchi, Barbara Catoir, Sylvia Martin, Johannes Meinhardt, and Stephan von Wiese. Düsseldorf: Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf, 1999