Franz Gertsch
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Franz Gertsch (8 March 1930 – 21 December 2022) was a Swiss painter and printmaker who was known for his large format
photorealistic Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can b ...
portraits and detailed studies of nature.


Biography

Gertsch was born 1930 in
Mörigen Mörigen is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Mörigen is first mentioned in 1196 as ''Moringen''. Prehistoric settlements During the Bronze Age the lake shore near modern ...
, Switzerland. Between 1947 and 1952 he studied with
Max von Mühlenen Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...
and Hans Schwarzenbach in Bern. In 1972, he took part in the
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, West Germany. The artistic director was Harald Szeemann. The title of the exhibition was: Befr ...
in
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
with his painting "Medici". He participated in the 1978 and 2003
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
and had a solo show there in 1999. Gertsch’s
woodcuts Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with Chisel#Gouge, gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts ...
were first shown at the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
in
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in 1990, as part of the museum's "projects" series, curated by
Riva Castleman Riva Castleman (August 15, 1930 – September 4, 2014) was an American art historian, art curator, and author who is credited with promoting the mediums of printmaking and illustrated books as serious forms of fine art. From 1976–95 she was Dir ...
. His work has since been presented at several retrospective exhibitions, the latest due to open in June 2024 at
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, also known as the Louisiana, is an art museum located north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Attracting over 700,000 guests annually, the Louisiana is Scandinavia's most visited museum for Modern art, modern and contempor ...
in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
. In 2002 Gertsch opened a Museum Franz Gertsch in Burgdorf. On the 8 March 2019, Frantz Gertschs birthday, the Museums expansion was inaugurated by the Federal Councilor
Simonetta Sommaruga Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2022. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and ...
. Gertsch died on 21 December 2022, at the age of 92 in
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in
Canton Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the canton, displayed on a red-yellow ba ...
.


Work

Gertsch is known for his realistic paintings and woodcuts for which he developed a new technique. The artist’s first large sized realist paintings date from 1969, when he painted “Huaa…!”, based on a film still showing a 19th century
cavalryman Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
the moment he’s been hit by a bullet. “Huaa...!” initiated the turn to the artist’s brightly coloured photorealistic works of the 1970s, which were often based on Gertsch’s own documentary-style snapshots of family and friends. With these works, Gertsch gained attention as an observer of Swiss
counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
. His self-titled “situation portraits” include the artist’s depictions of his
gender fluid Gender fluidity (commonly referred to as genderfluid) is a non-fixed gender identity that shifts over time or depending on the situation. These fluctuations can occur at the level of gender identity or gender expression. A genderfluid person may ...
friends getting ready for a party, which was called “a new art form” by the American
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
and
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...
guru
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
. Following his participation in the 1972 documenta, Gertsch’s new work featured more tightly framed figures. This phase of the artist’s work ended in 1978–1979 with five portraits of rock musician
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...
. In these paintings, Gertsch presents the rock icon in a realistic and authentic way, crouching in front of an
amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power su ...
, leaning forward into a tangle of microphones, or seen from behind or to the very edge of the painting. Moving between painting and
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...
, and portraiture and landscape, he maintained an investment in the photorealist image and its simultaneous citation and monumentalization of the photographic instant. Gertsch’s figurative and photorealistic works can be associated with the European Pop art movement and with contemporary artists such as
Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced Abstract art, abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, photographs and Glass art, glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important con ...
and
Sigmar Polke Sigmar Polke (13 February 1941 – 10 June 2010) was a German painter and photographer. Polke experimented with a wide range of styles, subject matters and materials. In the 1970s, he concentrated on photography, returning to paint in the 1980s, ...
in Germany, as well as
Chuck Close Charles Thomas Close (July 5, 1940 – August 19, 2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealism, photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits ...
in the USA. Just like these three artists, Gertsch’s point of departure is the photographic image. Focusing on detailed nature studies and close-up portraits, Gertsch however developed his unique style separating him from the
social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...
and ironic motifs of Pop art. Gertsch noted the fundamental influence Pop art had on his artistic career: “It was only through my encounter with Pop art in the mid-1960s that I finally found a way to enter into current art trends”. Together with Markus Raetz, Benedict Fivian, and Herbert Distel, he was represented in the 2017 retrospective Swiss Pop Art at the
Aargauer Kunsthaus The Aargauer Kunsthaus () is a Swiss art museum founded in 1959, and located in Aarau. The museum collection includes Swiss art from the 18th century to the present day; and ''Naturama'', a natural history collection. History The art museum st ...
. From 1976 to 2013 he created a total of 28 paintings and 15 monochrome woodcuts; he worked on a single composition for up to a year. In 1986, Gertsch took a break from painting to master the woodcut printmaking technique, in which he has pioneered new territory. In his woodcuts, the artist is said to use colour expressive rather than realistically, in order to define anew the relationship between colour and three-dimensional space. The first motifs were monumental portraits of young women, the various prints were all in different colours and thus assumed the character of individual sheets.Tobia Bezzola, “The Woodcuts of Franz Gertsch”, in Polyfocal Allover, Lars Müller Publishers/Swiss Institute/Karma, New York, 2021 In addition to the detailed work in cutting the wooden plates, Gertsch’s graphic prints entail time-consuming mixing and colour testing of binder and mineral pigments especially imported from
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, and thorough testing of hand-made Japan paper for the best possible transfer of colour from the print plates to the finished result. Colour played a central role for Gertsch – to the artist, the photographic image becomes a bearer of abstract qualities in colour and space. In his own words: «The more I focus on the photographic image, the more I move away from it» – towards recognizing that colour and the work has their own life, separate from the motif.


Works

Source:


Early works (1969–1976)

* Huaa...! (1969) * Maria mit Kindern (1971) * Medici (1971/72) * Gaby und Luciano (1973) * At Luciano's House (1973) * Barbara und Gaby (1974) * Marina schminkt Luciano (1975)


Main works (1978–2004)

* Patti Smith I, II, V (1978/79) * Selbstbildnis (1980) * Johanna I (1983/84) * Natascha IV (1987/88) * Silvia I (1998) * Gräser I (1995/96) * Gräser IV (1998/99)


Late works

Source: * Herbst (2007/08) * Sommer (2008/2009) * Winter (2009) * Frühling (2011)


Exhibitions


Solo exhibitions

*2024 **"Franz Gertsch", Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humblebæk **"Franz Gertsch. Selected Woodcuts", Galleri K, Oslo *2020 **"Franz Gertsch. Die Siebziger", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf, LENTOS Kunstmuseum Linz, Linz **"Franz Gertsch. Looking Back. Hommage zum Neunzigsten", Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich, Zürich *2019 **"Franz Gertsch. Es malt sich wie von selbst", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Frühling, Sommer, Herbst und Winter", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Winter und Sommer", Galerie Kornfeld, Bern **"Franz Gertsch. Selected Woodcuts 1986-2017", Galleri K, Oslo *2018 **"Franz Gertsch. Bilder sind meine Biografie", Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel **"Franz Gertsch: Polyfocal Allover", Swiss Institute (SI), New York **"Franz Gertsch. Looking at you", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf *2017 **"Franz Gertsch visages paysages", Musée Jenisch, Vevey **"Franz Gertsch", Galerie Skopia, Genf **"Franz Gertsch. Sommer", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Neu und unbekannt", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Selected monumental woodcuts", Galleri K, TEFAF Maastricht *2016 **"Werke von Franz Gertsch", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Portraits and Landscapes: Woodcuts", Galleri K, Oslo *2015 **"Franz Gertsch. Gewachsen", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Frühe Holzschnitte", Kabinett, Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Johanna & Co. feat. Andy Warhol", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch", Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin *2014 **"Franz Gertsch", Galerie Skopia, Genf **"Franz Gertsch", Les Abattoirs, Toulouse **"Franz Gertsch: Die Jahreszeiten", Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Kleve **"Franz Gertsch. Triptychon Guadeloupe", Museum Folkwang, Essen *2013 **"Franz Gertsch Holzschnitte. Aus der Natur gerissen", Museum Sinclair-Haus, Bad Homburg **"Franz Gertsch. Geheimnis Natur", Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden *2012 **"Franz Gertsch. Momentaufnahme", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Die vier Jahreszeiten", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf *2011 **"Franz Gertsch. Aus dem Frühwerk", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Die vier Jahreszeiten", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Das grosse Gras", Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Jahreszeiten. Werke von 1983 bis 2011", Kunsthaus Zürich **"Franz Gertsch – Holzschnitte", Galerie Haas AG, Zürich **"Franz Gertsch – Holzschnitte- ausgewählte Separatdrucke", Galerie Kornfeld und Cie., Bern *2010 **"Rot & Blau. Franz Gertsch und Max von Mühlenen", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Drei Gemälde aus dem Vier Jahreszeiten Zyklus", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf *2009 **"Franz Gertsch. 1950 und 1960: Skizzen und Vorzeichnungen zu, Tristan Bärmann‘", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Die neuen Jahreszeiten", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Eigenleben der Farbe. Farbproben zur Druckgraphik von Franz Gertsch", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch – Gräser – Holzschnitte", Galerie Lindner, Wien **"Silvia", Galerie Haas & Fuchs, Berlin *2008 **"Franz Gertsch", Galerie Skopia, Genf **"Franz Gertsch", Patrick Painter Inc., Santa Monica, CA **"Franz Gertsch. Herbst", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Arbeiten auf Papier", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch", Galerie Lovers of Fine Art, Gstaad *2007 "REHAU Aussicht Franz Gertsch", REHAU ART, Rehau *2006 **"Franz Gertsch – Monumentale Holzschnitte", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Retrospektive – das malerische Werk 1951–1986", MUMOK Museum für Moderne Kunst Stiftung **Ludwig, Wien, zusammen mit ***"Franz Gertsch. Naturporträts", Albertina, Wien ***"Franz Gertsch, Ikon Gallery", Birmingham *2005 **"Franz Gertsch. Die Retrospektive", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf, Kunstmuseum Bern, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen (2006), Kunsthalle Tübingen (2006) **"M+M – Der Johanna Zyklus", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch – Werke aus der Sammlung Stiftung Willy Michel", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Chuck Close. Franz Gertsch", Galerie Haas & Fuchs, Berlin, galerie im park, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch, Aquarelle – Schottland 1961–1965" – Museum Kurhaus Kleve **"Franz Gertsch. Fang Lijun. The Languages of Nature”, White Space, Peking *2004 **"Franz Gertsch – Werke aus der Sammlung Stiftung Willy Michel", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Aquarelle – Schottland 1961–1965", Graphische Sammlung der ETH Zürich, Museum Kurhaus Kleve **"Presence", The Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky **"Franz Gertsch – Patti Smith”, Gagosian Gallery, New York **"Martin Disler. Franz Gertsch", Galerie & Edition René Steiner, Erlach *2003 **"Franz Gertsch. Silvia, kestnergesellschaft, Hannover **"Franz Gertsch – Patti Smith", museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf, Pinakothek der Moderne, München *2002 **"Franz Gertsch", Galerie Monica de Cardenas, Mailand **"Franz Gertsch. Das Gesamtwerk 1987–2002", Eröffnungsausstellung museum franz gertsch, Burgdorf **"Franz Gertsch. Monumentale Holzschnitte", Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur *2001 "Franz Gertsch. Xylographies monumentales 1986–2000", Centre culturel suisse, Paris *2000 **"Franz Gertsch. Holzschnitte, Gräser", Galerie Haas & Fuchs, Berlin **"Franz Gertsch”, Hess Collection at Vinopolis, London *1999 **"Franz Gertsch – Gemälde und Holzschnitte 1987 bis 1997", Museum Kurhaus Kleve **"Stille Wasser. 7 Räume, 7 Künstler um Franz Gertsch", Kunstmuseum Thun *1997 **"Franz Gertsch. Preisträger des Kaiserrings Goslar", Mönchehaus Museum für moderne Kunst, Goslar **"Franz Gertsch – Landschaften und Porträts 1986–1995", Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin **"Franz Gertsch”, Cabinet des estampes, Musée d'art et d'histoire, Genf **"Franz Gertsch. Holzschnitte”, Kunsthalle Burgdorf *1996 "Franz Gertsch", Frankfurt, MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst *1995 "Franz Gertsch”, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya *1994 **"Franz Gertsch. Holzschnitte 1986–1994", Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden **"Franz Gertsch. Travaux récents", Galerie Patrick Roy, Lausanne **"Franz Gertsch. Holzschnitte und Malerei auf Papier", Kunstmuseum Bern **"Franz Gertsch. Holzschnitte 1986–1994", Galerie Kornfeld & Cie., Bern *1993 "Franz Gertsch. Landschaften", Graphische Sammlung der ETH, Zürich, Städtische Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt a. M. *1992 "Franz Gertsch. Gravures sur bois 1986–1991", Galerie Patrick Roy, Lausanne *1991 **"Franz Gertsch, Eröffnungsausstellung", Galerie Rigassi, Bern **"Franz Gertsch. Holzschnitte", Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, München **"Franz Gertsch. Nine Large Scale Woodcuts”, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., San José Museum of Art *1990 "Franz Gertsch. Large Scale Woodcuts”, Serie "Projects", Museum of Modern Art, New York *1989 "Franz Gertsch. Bois gravés monumentaux. Grossformatige Holzschnitte. Large-scale woodcuts”, Cabinet des estampes und Musée Rath, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Genf *1986 **"Franz Gertsch", Museum Moderner Kunst, Wien, Kunsthalle Basel **"Franz Gertsch. Johanna II", Kunsthalle Bern *1983 "Franz Gertsch, Arbeiten 1981/82/83", Knoedler, Zürich *1981/82 "Franz Gertsch. Major Works”, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York *1980 "Franz Gertsch", Kunsthaus Zürich, Sprengelmuseum Hannover *1979 "Franz Gertsch", Galerie Veith Turske, Köln *1976 "Franz Gertsch", Galerie Veith Turske, Köln *1975 "Franz Gertsch", Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Kunstverein Braunschweig, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Kunsthalle Basel *1973 "Franz Gertsch", Nancy Hoffmann Gallery, New York *1972 **"Franz Gertsch", Galerie Mikro, Berlin **"Franz Gertsch", Kunstmuseum Luzern *1971 "Franz Gertsch", Galerie Verna, Zürich *1970 **Galerie Stampa, Basel **"Franz Gertsch – Neue Bilder II", Galerie Toni Gerber, Bern **"Franz Gertsch – Neue Bilder I", Galerie Toni Gerber, Bern *1969 "Franz Gertsch – Bilder und Collagen", Galerie Riehentor, Basel *1968 "Franz Gertsch. Bilder und Collagen 1968", Galerie Krebs, Bern *1966 "Franz Gertsch", Orell Füssli, Zürich *1965 "Franz Gertsch. Aquarelle", Galerie Bertram, Burgdorf *1964 "Franz Gertsch", Anlikerkeller, Bern *1962 "Franz Gertsch", Anlikerkeller, Bern *1955 "Franz Gertsch. Malerei, Graphik", Anlikerkeller, Bern *1951 "Franz Gertsch", Galerie Simmen, Bern


Scholarships and awards

* 1949 De Harris scholarship * 1967 Louise Aeschlimann scholarship * 1974–75 DAAD scholarship, Berlin * 1997
Goslarer Kaiserring Since 1975, the Goslarer Kaiserring award has been given, by the city of Goslar, to a distinguished international artist of modern and contemporary art. The award is for artists whose work has given the contemporary art significant impetus. The pr ...
* 1998 Kulturpreis der Bürgi-Willert-Foundation * 2005 Honorary citizen
Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...
, Kiel * 2006 Honorary citizen
Rüschegg Rüschegg is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. It is also a Swiss Re ...


See also

* Museum Franz Gertsch


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gertsch, Franz 1930 births 2022 deaths Swiss male painters Swiss contemporary artists 20th-century Swiss painters 21st-century Swiss painters 21st-century Swiss male artists People from Biel/Bienne District Photorealist artists 20th-century Swiss male artists