Recently I discovered these impressive abstract paintings from the German artist Christian von Grumbkow. I was immediately touched by his colorful, huge pieces as well as his expressive coloruse in red, orange, blue and black. Therefore I decided, in cooperation with him, to write several blogs about his inspiring and versatile art. I am sure you will be surprised too! Below you will find the nine parts of his artwork (size 10 x 5,5 Meter) called 'Life Streams' which he painted between November 2010 & February 2011 (Foyer Volkswohlbund, Dortmund, Am Südwall). You will also find below more information about him as an artist, his background and for which reasons he likes to touch other people spiritually by creating this kind of art. More blogs are following soon about this great artist. Be Inspired .......
More about the artist
Christian von Grumbkow
is a German artist born in 1946 in Oberhausen, Germany and he is painting since he
has the age of 3 years old. He is very well experienced as an
international artist for more than 40 years. He had more than 300
exhibitions from 1971 untill 2018 in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain,
Austria, the UK, U.S.A., Canada, Poland, France.
BIOGRAPHY:
Christian followed from 1966 - 1971 art lessons at Prof. Rudolf Schoofs,
WKS Wuppertal, Germany. He took also fine arts lessons at the Dutch Gerrit
Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam (NL) from 1969 - 1970. Earlier he worked at the
Folkwangschule in Essen, Germany (1970 - 1980), was the founder and guitar
player from the art-rock group Hoelderlin (1970 - 1977). He worked
as a guest teacher in Alfter, Ulm, Witten, Vienna and London (1981 - 2010).
During this period Christian also gave art seminars at various colleges / universities
in the USA, Canada. He worked at the GB.Art Project at the CMS, Wuppertal, Germany
and started with online tutorials with GEISTREICH LERNEN and his art school KUNST KURSE COACHING In 2009 Christian won the price
Christa & Enno Springmann Kultur-Stiftung, Wuppertal, Essen, Germany.
Christian, you are an artist. What is
your inner drive?
Already in the days
of my childhood when I was a very shy little boy I became aware of being
obsessed by a diversity of creative moments and possibilities within my reach:
Drawings with my mother’s lipsticks on wallpapers, a guitar built by myself and
my humming of self-composed songs, role-playing games or even plasticine
landscapes.
Bright
moments at school only if and only if I could draw, paint, plasticize or play
music. In this respect the inner pulse “to feel myself”, to provoke, to
manipulate and change social processes - be it in a sensitive or in a somewhat
provocative way - became a kind of “inner language” - or even speech - since adolescence. For a couple of years I was not
capable to communicate in common “verbal” language and could not master speech
as a means of public communication.
However it was this attitude which allowed me against intense opposition to
train my perception and helped to develop my inner posture concerning art
during the years of studying art and later on. I discovered color as “Layer of
Emotions” and a form of selftherapy.
What should art, your art be capable to
cause?
I have been painting for many years now. Collaborating with colleagues, art
historians and gallery owners a specific outlook on art has developed and is
still in process. Let me put it this way: The more authentic my way of living
and working - the more my art gets precise and “reduced” to the core. Orders,
sales and invitations to expositions came easier and had a lasting effect.
Travelling, manifold encounters, any kind of experiences were as well an
inspiring moment for me as artist and as human being.
My art whether displayed in collections, public buildings or living spaces is
not at all destructive or even cultivate destruction. The aim of my art should
build up, strengthen / support, give more sensitivity and the viewer confront
oneself partially. Art as a possibility for individual contemplation and social
perception.
Inspiring quote Christian von Grumbkow – “Blurring”
“I don’t paint a message, nor thoughts, but I paint color ... I must struggle for quality, for the essence of color, for mood, for balance or
even for dissonance. But there has to be a viewer who in the process of
viewing, in appreciating the painting, can experience something, can even
experience himself.“
Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Note: These paintings have been placed with approval of the
artist himself.
