Ludwig Merwart
Encyclopedia
Ludwig Merwart was an influential Austrian
painter
and graphic artist. He is an important representative of abstract expressionism
and was a major force in graphic arts
and prints
, especially after World War II
. His work belongs to the most significant and interesting contributions to graphic arts
in Austria
to this day.
Merwart’s unique technique of iron etching
attracted great attention in the 50s and 60s and 70s. 1959 he exhibited his work at the documenta
2 in Kassel (Germany) and at the V. Biennale de São Paulo (Brasil), the following year at the International Graphic Biennale in Cincinnati (Ohio) and the Tate
Gallery in London (Great Britain).
“These prints rung from iron, acid and color, radiate tranquility, confidence and creativity. The adventure of a method reaching back to the very roots and origins of the creative impulse have here captured a phenomenon, which, independent of the process of realization, afford the viewer an experience of pronounced aesthetic intensity.” (Dr. Wilhelm Mrazek, Former Director of the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria)
) paintings, later evolved into nearly monochrome panels, and ended with spacious, geometric compositions. Merwart's friend and companion Peter Baum structures Merwart's work in three distinct periods:
'Informal Art (art informel): Merwart's early iron etchings and his oil paintings from between 1958 and 1960/61 are among the highest quality examples of Austrian Informal Art. This is perhaps the main reason why they were represented at the Kassel documenta
in 1959.
'Mediative paintings: Around the mid-1960s, color dominated Merwart's works. For the most part painted in landscape format, they concentrate on the subtle escalation of the presence of color, applied in many layers and with extremely delicate overpainting. They radiate calm and equilibrium are compared with the work of Mark Rothko
and Gotthard Graubner
.
Mutations – iron etching
s and acrylic paintings: From a temporal perspective, this last phase spanned at least one and a half decades. In the second half of the 1960s, the almost complete monochromacity of Merwart's earlier works was loosened up with a stronger gesture and subsequently infused with a geometric, underlying form. Radical reduction to an unprecedented degree, along with a commitment to form, became increasingly prominent in the artist's work. Similarly powerful as his approach to color, his experimentation with plate elements produced iron etchings that are unequalled in their precision. In painting, Merwart turned away from oil colors for technical reasons and used acrylics instead.
Solo exhibitions
Group exhibitions
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and graphic artist. He is an important representative of abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
and was a major force in graphic arts
Graphic arts
A type of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of art forms. Graphic art is typically two-dimensional and includes calligraphy, photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, lithography, typography, serigraphy , and bindery. Graphic art also consists of drawn plans and layouts for interior...
and prints
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
, especially after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His work belongs to the most significant and interesting contributions to graphic arts
Graphic arts
A type of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of art forms. Graphic art is typically two-dimensional and includes calligraphy, photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, lithography, typography, serigraphy , and bindery. Graphic art also consists of drawn plans and layouts for interior...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to this day.
Merwart’s unique technique of iron etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
attracted great attention in the 50s and 60s and 70s. 1959 he exhibited his work at the documenta
Documenta
documenta is an exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau which took place in Kassel at that time...
2 in Kassel (Germany) and at the V. Biennale de São Paulo (Brasil), the following year at the International Graphic Biennale in Cincinnati (Ohio) and the Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
Gallery in London (Great Britain).
“These prints rung from iron, acid and color, radiate tranquility, confidence and creativity. The adventure of a method reaching back to the very roots and origins of the creative impulse have here captured a phenomenon, which, independent of the process of realization, afford the viewer an experience of pronounced aesthetic intensity.” (Dr. Wilhelm Mrazek, Former Director of the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria)
Work
His richly varied oeuvre began with complex, Tashist (TachismeTachisme
Tachisme is a French style of abstract painting popular in the 1940s and 1950s. It is often considered to be the European equivalent to abstract expressionism...
) paintings, later evolved into nearly monochrome panels, and ended with spacious, geometric compositions. Merwart's friend and companion Peter Baum structures Merwart's work in three distinct periods:
'Informal Art (art informel): Merwart's early iron etchings and his oil paintings from between 1958 and 1960/61 are among the highest quality examples of Austrian Informal Art. This is perhaps the main reason why they were represented at the Kassel documenta
Documenta
documenta is an exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau which took place in Kassel at that time...
in 1959.
'Mediative paintings: Around the mid-1960s, color dominated Merwart's works. For the most part painted in landscape format, they concentrate on the subtle escalation of the presence of color, applied in many layers and with extremely delicate overpainting. They radiate calm and equilibrium are compared with the work of Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
and Gotthard Graubner
Gotthard Graubner
Gotthard Graubner is a German painter. He was born in Erlbach, in Saxony, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Arts in Düsseldorf, before becoming a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, in 1969...
.
Mutations – iron etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
s and acrylic paintings: From a temporal perspective, this last phase spanned at least one and a half decades. In the second half of the 1960s, the almost complete monochromacity of Merwart's earlier works was loosened up with a stronger gesture and subsequently infused with a geometric, underlying form. Radical reduction to an unprecedented degree, along with a commitment to form, became increasingly prominent in the artist's work. Similarly powerful as his approach to color, his experimentation with plate elements produced iron etchings that are unequalled in their precision. In painting, Merwart turned away from oil colors for technical reasons and used acrylics instead.
Exhibitions
(sample of recent years)- 2006: SPEKTRUM FARBE. Kunst der Moderne. Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum, Sankt PöltenSankt PöltenSankt Pölten is the capital city of the State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria. With inhabitants , it is Lower Austria's largest city...
/ Austria
- 2003: Avantgarde und Tradition. Lentos Kunstmuseum LinzLinzLinz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
/ Austria
- 2003: Wasser in Attersee. Gemälde, Graphik, Photographie. Kunsthalle Attersee, KATT, AtterseeAttersee (town)Attersee is a village located at the western shore of lake Attersee in Upper Austria, Austria.The village center lies between the lake and the slopes of the Buchberg and is the location of a Baroque pilgrimage church from which marvelous views across the lake and up to the "Höllengebirge" can be...
/ Austria
- 2003: Ludwig Merwart - Ölbilder und Eisenätzungen. Galerie Wolfgang Exner, - Galerie für junge und aktuelle Kunst, Wien / Austria
- 1999: Zeitschnitt 1900 - 2000 - 100 Jahre, 100 Werke. Neue Galerie der Stadt LinzLinzLinz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
/ Austria
Solo exhibitions
- 1958 Franzoesischer Saal des Kuenstlerhauses Vienna (A)
- 1960 Galerie Ambiente São Paulo (BR)
- 1960 Galerie Parnass Wuppertal-Elberfeld (D)
- 1960 Galerie das Fenster Frankfurt am Main (D)
- 1960 Galerie Bernd Clasing Muenster in Westfalen (D)
- 1960 Galerie Willi Verkauf Vienna (A)
- 1961 Galerie Bruecke Bielefeld (D)
- 1962 Galerie Neutorgasse der Ersten oesterreichischen Spar-Casse Vienna (A)
- 1964 Internationaler Kuenstlerklub Palais Palffy Vienna (A)
- 1968 Galerie Musarion Basel (CH)
- 1969 Galerie auf der Stubenbastei Vienna (A)
- 1970 Galerie an der Stadtmauer Villach (A)
- 1971 Galerie in der Passage Vienna (A)
- 1971 Modern Art Galerie Vienna (A)
- 1972 Galeria Linea 70 Verona (O)
- 1974 Galerie am Schottenring Vienna (A)
- 1977 Hunyadi-Schloss, Maria-Enzersdorf (A)
- 1977 Wella Gallerie Linz (A)
- 1978 Kuenstlerhaus Vienna(A)
- 1982 NOE. Landesmuseum Vienna (A)
- 1982 Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz Wolfgang Gurlitt-Museum (A)
Group exhibitions
- 1948 Künstlerhaus Wien, Junge Künstler Österreichs (A)
- 1958 Kupferstichkabinett der Akademie der bildenden Künste Vienna (A)
- 1958 Jovenes pintores die Viena in San Salvador (ES)
- 1959 II. documentaDocumentadocumenta is an exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau which took place in Kassel at that time...
Kassel (D) - 1959 Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz (A), Form und Farbe
- 1959 Graphik der Gegenwart, Berlin-Charlottenburg (D)
- 1959 Graphik der Gegenwart, Wiesbaden (D)
- 1959 V. Biennale de São Paulo (BR)
- 1960 International Graphic Biennale Cincinnati (USA)
- 1960 Austrian Art in the Tate-Gallery London (GB)
- 1961 Galerie OREZ, Den Haag (NL)
- 1961 Who is who Wiener Secession Wien (A)
- 1961 Triennale für Original-Farbgraphik Grenchen (CH)
- 1961 Wiener Kunst der Gegenwart, Schloß Porcia Spittal/Drau (A)
- 1961 Internationale Graphikbiennale, Cincinnati (USA)
- 1962 Int. Prints, Art Museum Cincinnati (USA)
- 1962 Graphik in Österreich, Ljubljana (früheres YU)
- 1963 Incisori Austriaci Contemporanei, Calcografia Nazionale, Rome und Pisa (I)
- 1963 Arte contemporaneo des Austrie, Horario Bogota (CO)
- 1966 Galerie Willi Verkauf, Vienna (A)
- 1968 Austrian Cultural Institute, New York (USA)
- 1968 Profile VIII Bochum (D)
- 1969 Galleria Grafica, Romero Rom (I)
- 1969 Galleria Poliantea Terni (I)
- 1969 Galleria d`Arte di San Carlo, Neapel (I)
- 1969 3 a Biennale di Bolzano (I)
- 1969 3 a Rassegna Internazionale d`Arte Acireale, Sizilien (I)
- 1969 Young Artists from Around the World, New York (USA)
- 1969 Art Center, Parkersburg (SA)
- 1969 Oglebay Institute in Wheeling (USA)
- 1969 Art Center der Ersten österreichischen Sparkasse, Wien (A)
- 1970 Incontro Sud, Reggio Calabria (I)
- 1970 Xle Salon International "Paris Sud" (F)
- 1970 Kontra-Art, Hollabrunn (A)
- 1970 Avantgarde 70, Klosterneuburg (A)
- 1970 University of Texas, Austin (USA)
- 1970 Kleine Galerie, Vienna (A)
- 1970 Panorama 70/71, Galerie bei Infeld, Kitzbühel (A)
- 1971 Kontra-Art, Hollabrunn (A)
- 1972 Galerie Döbling, Vienna (A)
- 1972 13. Graphikwettbewerb, Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck (A)
- 1972 Parz-Kontakte 72, Künstlerzentrum, Schloß Parz (A)
- 1972 2. Meeting, Wolfgangsee, St. Wolfgang (A)
- 1973 Österreichischer Graphikwettbewerb, Krems (A)
- 1973 Austrian Cultural Institute, New York (USA)
- 1973 Umweltgalerie, Stuttgart (D)
- 1974 Parzer Kontakte 74, Schloß Parz (A)
- 1974 Düsseldorfer Kunstmarkt (D)
- 1975 La jeune gravure contemporaine, Paris (F)
- 1975 Galerie Contact, Vienna (A)
- 1975 Galerie Candea, Kettwig (D)
- 1975 Düsseldorfer Kunstmarkt (D)
Publications
- Curt Grützmacher: Theo Braun, Günther Kraus, Ludwig Merwart, Graphikmappe mit Originaleisenradierungen. 1958.
- Ernst Randak: Katalogtext. Wien, 1958.
- Jorg Lampe: Malerei als Selbstvollzug. Alte und moderen Kunst, Heft 1/2. Wien, 1959.
- Jorg Lampe: Text zu neun Eisenradierungen von Theo Braun, Günther Kraus und Ludwig Merwart. Wien, 1960.
- Peter Baum: Alte und Moderne Kunst. Heft 82. Wien, 1965. Österreichische Graphik von 1955 bis 1965.
- Feuerstein, Hutter, Köller, Mrazek: Moderne Kunst in Österreich. Forum Verlag WIen, 1965.
- Peter Baum: Zur Situation der österreichischen Malerei heute. Christliche Kunstblätter 4/1966.
- Rüdiger Engerth: Die heimliche Gruppe. Neues Forum. Heft 154. Wien, 1966.
- Alfred Schmeller: L'art autr in Österreich. Aufforderung zum Misstrauen. Residenzverlag. Salzburg, 1967.
- Wilhelm Mrazek: Katalogtext. Österreichisches Kulturinstitut New York. 1968.
- Claus Pack: Moderne Graphik in Österreich. Forum Verlag. Wien, 1969
- Ludwig Merwart: 5 Originalfarbradierungen. Edition Club del Cappello Verona. Mit einem Text von Arturo Fornaro. 1972.
- Ludwig Merwart: Katalogtext für Art en garde Hunyadi-Schloss. Maria-Enzersdorf, 1977.
- Maria Buchsbaum, Jorg Lampe, Alfred Balcarek und Egon Haug: Text zur Publikation anlässlich der Ausstellung Ludwig Merwart & Theo Braun im Künstlerhaus. Wien, 1978.
- Peter Baum/Theo Braun: Texte im Katalog zu den Ausstellungen im NÖ. Landesmuseum Wien und der Neuen Galerie der Stadt Linz. 1982