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Rupprecht Geiger – A life for color
Rupprecht Geiger was one of the main representatives of color field painting in Germany; his entire life’s work revolved around the theme of color. Geiger viewed color as an autonomous value, “color is energy”. Particularly through the intensive study of the color red, it became internationally known in the 1950s: “Red is life, energy, potency, power, love, warmth, strength. With its ability to stimulate, it has a powerful function.” His pictures were characterized by simple geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles, circles or ovals and intensely bright colors and contrasts.
Awards and honors
1951:
– Domnick Prize from the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany
1958:
– Prize from the International Triennial for Color Graphics in Grenchen, Switzerland
1968:
– Burda Prize
1986:
– Gold Medal from the 8th International Graphic Arts Biennale Fredrikstad, Norway
1988:
– Berlin Art Prize, awarded by the Academy of Arts, Berlin, Germany
– Grand Federal Cross of Merit, Germany
1989:
– Cultural Honorary Prize from the State Capital of Munich, Germany
1992:
– Rubens Prize from the City of Siegen, Germany
1993:
– Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art, Germany
1994:
– Harry Graf Kessler Prize
1995:
– Upper Bavarian Cultural Prize, Germany
1997:
– Golden Medal of Honor of the state capital Munich, Germany
Exhibitions and art fairs
1959:
– documenta II, Kassel, Germany
1964:
– documenta III, Kassel, Germany
1967:
– Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, Germany
1968:
– documenta IV, Kassel, Germany
1977:
– documenta VI, Kassel, Germany
– Quadrat Bottrop, Germany
1985:
– Retrospective, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany
1986:
– Seiji Togo Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
1994:
– Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
– Gemäldegalerie Neue Meister, Staatl. Art Collections Dresden, Germany
2002:
– XXV. Biennale, São Paulo, Brazil
2005:
– Mies van der Rohe Haus, Berlin, Germany
2007/2008:
– Retrospective for the 100th birthday, Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany
– Museum of Contemporary Art, Siegen, Germany
– Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
– Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
2017:
– Rupprecht Geiger. Fill up with color, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany
2020:
– RED X STEEL, Alf-Lechner-Museum Ingolstadt, Germany
Rupprecht Geiger was born in Munich in 1908 as the son of the painter and graphic artist Willi Geiger. From 1926-1935 he studied at the School of Applied Arts in Munich and initially worked in a Munich architectural office until he was drafted to the front in Russia in 1940. In 1948 his first abstract painting was exhibited at the “Salon des Réalistes Nouvelles” in Paris. A year later, together with Baumeister, Matschinsky-Denninghoff and Winter, the group “ZEN 49” was founded. In the 1950s, Geiger found his typical style of abstract and colorful compositions. Between 1959 and 1977, Geiger took part in the documenta in Kassel several times. In 1965, Geiger was appointed professor at the Düsseldorf Academy, where he taught until 1976. Rupprecht Geiger is one of only three honorary members of the German Artists’ Association. His works are in important museums and collections.
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