Gero Trauth (born 25 June 1942) is a German painter, graphic artist, porcelain illustrator and designer.

Life and art work

Gero Trauth was born as a single child to Dr. med. Fritz Trauth and his wife Irene Jung in Neurode/Eulengebirge,

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

. In 1946 the family had to move to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and settled in

Siegen Siegen () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg region. The university town (n ...

. Trauth is married to Renate Lohmann with two grown-up daughters.

Education

Trauth started his education in 1959 as a

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

at the Buchkunst-Eggebrecht-Presse in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

led by Hans Schmidt. Then he studied

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

Graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of the data, as in design and manufa ...

and

Design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

at the ''Staatliche

Werkkunstschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for the ...

'' (today University of Applied Sciences, Mainz) from 1960 to 1965. His teachers were Gedo Dotterweich (1983-1986 president of the ''

Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (; ) is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists established in 1907. The ''Werkbund'' became an important element in the development of modern architecture and industrial design, parti ...

''), Alfred Tilp, Heinz Müller-Olm (sculpture), Aloys Ruppel (history of calligraphy and books at the Johannes-Gutenberg-University), Helmut Presser (director of the

Gutenberg Museum The Gutenberg Museum is one of the oldest museums of printing in the world, located opposite the cathedral in the old part of Mainz, Germany. It is named after Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of printing from movable metal type in Western Euro ...

, history of book illustration). The studies were completed by seminars given by Heinz Mack (''ZERO Lichtraum''), Herbert W. Kapitzki and Anton Stankowski. In 1965, Trauth graduated with honors and gave a special exhibition at the Staatliche Werkkunstschule Mainz for a delegation of the ministry of

Rheinland-Pfalz Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Tutors and friends

In 1962 Trauth met Bjørn Wiinblad through the help of designer Elsa Fischer-Dreyden. During his studies, Trauth frequently stayed 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 ...

and Wiinblad became his artistic tutor and later his friend. Trauth also became close friends with the Swedish painter and graphic-designer Gunnar Norrman († 2005) and his wife Ulla. They often visited each other and worked together at the same artistic printing press for copper gravure.

Art works

Painting and design

Since 1966, Trauth has been working as an independent painter and designer in his studio in Siegen. In 1972 he designed and built his private house. From 1967 to 1983 his works include sketches, graphics and sculptures for internationally famous art galleries such as ''Artes - Kunst unserer Welt'' 1982-1989, ''ars mundi - die Welt der Kunst'' 1982/1983 (release of the sculpture “Du” (''You'') both in a bronze and a marble version as well as posters and oil paintings. Trauth published two illustrated books entitled ''Verschollene Gärten'' (''Forgotten Gardens'') and ''Mein Herz ist ein Stern - Bilder wie Träume und Märchen'' (''My heart is a star''). His work as a designer ranges from ceramic tiles (Staatliche Majolika Manufaktur, Karlsruhe), fabric designs (Stuttgarter Gardinenfabrik, Taunus Textildruck), lamps (Bundesgartenschau Dortmund, Ambiente Messen Frankfurt a.M.), cutlery (department store GUM), pottery (Eternit AG) ceramic and stainless steel ornaments for public buildings as well as furniture designs. In 2000 he opened an exhibition house in Siegen (Gero-Trauth-Haus).

Illustrations on porcelain

In 1984 he began what was to be an extremely successful partnership with Villeroy&Boch/Heinrich–Porzellan in Selb which ended in 1997. During this time Trauth left his mark decisively on the range of products. The exclusive table settings and dinnerware were looked after by Trauth and

Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso (born Anne Paloma Ruiz-Picasso y Gilot on 19 April 1949) is a French jewelry designer and businesswoman. She is best known for her collaboration with Tiffany & Co and her signature perfumes. The daughter of artists Pablo Picas ...

whose objet d’art (collectors’ piece) “Paloma Picasso-Suite de Vase” was decorated by Trauth. Moreover, he designed

bone china Bone china is a type of vitreous, translucent pottery, the raw materials for which include bone ash, feldspathic material and kaolin. It has been defined as "ware with a translucent body" containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived from c ...

dinner services (''Vie Sauvage'', ''Arabian Fantasy'' und ''Happy Seasons''). Numerous articles show his style, among others the exclusive objet d’art (collectors’ piece) “Magnum” (1990). Trauth also created series of porcelain for the WWF (''Symbiose Mensch – Natur'', 1990) and the German Cancer Research (''Deutsche Krebshilfe''; (Träumereien, 1995). Moreover, series of Russian fairy tale motifs (''Zaubermärchen aus dem Alten Rußland'', ''Märchen der Wolga'', ''Die Träume der Katharina'') were created as well as other series (''Zauberwelt der Manege'', ''Liebespaare der Weltliteratur''), annual Christmas plates, which were presented in Europe (Internationale Frankfurter Messen) and in the USA (Southbend-Fair, Chicago), V&B, Madison Avenue, New York.

Cappella Gero Trauth

In 2003 the new exhibition showroom ''Cappella Gero Trauth'' was designed by Trauth. It stands for the symbiosis of works from the world literature and Trauth's art works and is thought to be a refuge for his collectors. 2005 :

Vernissage A vernissage (from French, originally meaning "varnishing") is a preview of an art exhibition, which may be private, before the formal opening. If the vernissage is not open to the public, but only to invited guests, it is often called a '' pr ...

and exhibition of water-color graphics on

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

’s ''Buch der Lieder'' (''Book of Songs, 1827'') 2008 : Vernissage and exhibition of

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s and graphics on

Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original plays, Ostrovsky "almost single-handedly created a Russian national repe ...

's Snegurochka (''The Snow Maiden'' or ''Snowflake'') 2012 : Vernissage and exhibition of oil paintings and graphics on “Ich bin so wild nach deinem Erdbeermund”:

Nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

s 2013 : Vernissage and exhibition of oil paintings and graphics on “Indische Märchenwelt” (graphical interpretations of the

Gita Govinda The ''Gita Govinda'' (; IAST: ''gītagovindam'') is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan. The ''Gita Govinda'' is organiz ...

, ''Song of Govinda'')Laudationes at the vernissage (March 30, 2013): Pooja M. Tillu (Consulate General of India, Frankfurt), Dr. Jacob Tharakan (German-Indian Society,

), Prof. Dr. Michael Hahn (Head of the Dept.

Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

and

Tibetology Tibetology () refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, culture, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance. The last may mean a collection of ...

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

); musical interludes by

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

Sheila Arnold and

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and Indian dancer Meera Varghese.

Awards and recognitions

*1957 Winner of a competition of the magazine “''

Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

''” entitled self-portraits (January 12, 1957). *1964 Design award (gift wrapping) by the Swedish company Åkerlund & Rausing. *1969 Seven Design Awards “Die gute Form” for company products at the International

Frankfurt Trade Fair Messe Frankfurt () is one of the world's largest trade fair, congress and event organizer with its own exhibition grounds. The organization has 2,500 employees at some 30 locations, generating annual sales of around €661 million. Its services ...

. *1990 Trauths collectors’ pieces on porcelain were entered in and exhibited by the Museum of Ceramics in Mettlach. *2004 ''Alle unsere Träume'' (''All our Dreams'') accepted by the Museum of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, Foyle Menuhin Archive (Nr. 2005.2566),

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. *2006 Trauth's 32 graphics on Heinrich Heine's “Book of Songs” were accepted by the ''Heinrich-Heine-Institut'' in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Bibliography

*''Verschollene Gärten - ein Bildband'' (''Lost Gardens – a book of paintings''), Rettmer und Luy, Karlsruhe 1979, 2. Edition 1982 *''Mein Herz ist ein Stern - Bilder wie Träume und Märchen'', ein Bildband (''My Heart is a Star – Paintings like Dreams and Fairytales''), Im Haus der Sterne 1998, *''Das Buch zum Buch der Lieder'' - Illustrations of Heinrich Heines Buch der Lieder, Cappella Gero Trauth 2006 *''Das Buch zum Schneeflöckchen'' - Illustrations of Alexander Ostrowskis Sneguročka/Schneeflöckchen, Cappella Gero Trauth 2009

Collector lists and encyclopedias

*Listed in ''Collector Editions''/Spring 1986, Collector Communications-Corp, NY. *Listed in ''Plate World'' (''Who's Who among Artists'') (1987). *Listed in ''The Bradford Book of Collector's Plates'' (1988). *A.-A. Ziese ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Kunstschaffenden in der bildenden und gestaltenden Kunst im ausgehenden XX''. Jahrhundert, Bd. 2, Nr. 82005, Verlag arte factum, Nürnberg (1986/87).

Footnotes

External links

Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trauth, Gero 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters 21st-century German painters 21st-century German male artists German illustrators 20th-century German designers 21st-century German designers 1942 births Living people People from Nowa Ruda Artists from the Province of Silesia University of Applied Sciences, Mainz alumni