Günther C. Kirchberger (22 August 1928; Kornwestheim – 5 April 2010; Göppingen) was a German

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and professor. He was a Hard Edge painter and a close friend to Lawrence Alloway. Together with

Georg Karl Pfahler Georg Karl Pfahler (8 October 1926 – 6 January 2002) was a German painter, printmaker and sculptor, and one of the leading proponents of post-war art in Germany. Biography After enrolling at the Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg between 1948 a ...

Kirchberger was the founder of the ''gruppe 11''.

Life

Kirchberger studied at the

State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart The State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart (German: Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart) is a university in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded on 25 June 1761, and located since 1946 on the Weißenhof, the Academy, whose historical sig ...

from 1950-1954 where he came in close contact with abstract painter Willi Baumeister. In 1956 he went to London and became friends with Lawrence Alloway,

Denis Bowen Denis Bowen (5 April 1921 – 23 March 2006) was a South African artist, gallery director and promoter of abstract and avant-garde art in Britain. He was founder of the New Vision Group and the New Vision Centre Gallery, both of which played a ...

and

Ralph Rumney Ralph Rumney (5 June 1934 – 6 March 2002) was an English artist, born in Newcastle Upon Tyne. In 1957 lifelong conscientious objector Rumney - he evaded National Service by going on the run in continental Europe - was one of the co-founders o ...

. Back in Stuttgart, he founded ''gruppe 11'' (''group 11'') together with Georg Karl Pfahler. The group had exhibitions in Munich, Brussel, Rome and London in 1957-59. In 1959 his art shifted from Art informel to color forms. In 1960 he comes in contact with the philosopher

Max Bense Max Bense (7 February 1910 in Strasbourg – 29 April 1990 in Stuttgart) was a German philosopher, writer, and publicist, known for his work in philosophy of science, logic, aesthetics, and semiotics. His thoughts combine natural sciences, art, a ...

and his circle, and 1964 he finally becomes a pure Hard Edge painter. Since 1964 he taught at the ''Werkkunstschule'' (School of Applied Arts) in Krefeld and began working with so called ''do-it-yourself'' paintings. One of his students was the later star photographer Peter Lindbergh. Since 1996 Kirchberger lived in

Bad Boll Bad Boll is a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History In 1321, the County of Württemberg purchased title over Bad Boll and came to possess it ''de jure'', but it was ''de facto'' still controlled by a ...

, near Göppingen. He died in Göppingen in 2010. His estate is located at Schloss Filseck near Göppingen, where ''The G.C. Kirchberger Archives'' (Supported by ''The Schloss Filseck Foundation'') began his work in 2017

Schloss Filseck Eingangstor

Literature

* Stephan Geiger: ''Der kühne Vorstoß ins Internationale – zum Werk des Stuttgarter Avantgardisten Günther C. Kirchberger''. In: freie geste – strenge form. günther c. kirchberger zum 80. geburtstag. Ausst.-Kat. Singen 2008, S. 5-106. * Irmgard Sedler (Hrsg.): ''Günther C. Kirchberger – IM FOKUS'', Stadt Kornwestheim, Museum im Kleihues-Bau 2013, . * Stephan Geiger: ''Günther C. Kirchberger – Eine Schlüsselfigur der Stuttgarter Avantgarde'' (Heft 1 Schriftenreihe des Archivs G.C. Kirchberger), Galerie im Ostflügel, Schloss Filseck 2018, . * Stephan Geiger: ''Günther C. Kirchberger und die gruppe 11 – Der Aufbruch ins Internationale'' (Heft 2 Schriftenreihe des Archivs G.C. Kirchberger), Galerie im Ostflügel, Schloss Filseck 2018, .

References

Obituary

External links

* ttp://www.stuttgarter-schule.de/kirchberger.htm Werks- und Ausstellungsverzeichnis bei der Stuttgarter Schule(1961 bis 1992)
Artikel über Kirchberger von der Stuttgarter Schule
(1992)

(1928 bis 1998)
Artist page, Galerie Geiger, Constance

Artfacts
1928 births 2010 deaths People from Ludwigsburg (district) People from the Free People's State of Württemberg 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters 21st-century German painters 21st-century German male artists {{Germany-painter-stub