Dictionary
Group 53
In 1953, a number of young artists from Düsseldorf came together, and formed Gruppe 53. Initially calling themselves the Künstlergruppe Niederrhein 1953 e.V., the artists changed the name of the group to Gruppe 53, after the year in which it was founded. Gruppe 53 organised group exhibitions and other cultural events. The exhibitions became increasingly focused on providing contemporary abstract art with a forum and strengthening its position in the public eye. The group had neither a manifesto, nor one dominant artistic style, but its artists were unified by their rejection of Geometric Abstraction, preferring instead the expressive, gestural, spontaneous painting of Informel art.
Members of Gruppe 53 included Peter Brüning, Winfried Gaul, Gerhard Hoehme, Horst Egon Kalinowski, Herbert Kaufmann, Rolf Sackenheim and Friedrich Wertmann. Other artists exhibiting in the Gruppe 53 shows included Emil Schumacher, Karl Fred Dahmen, Konrad Klapheck, the Quadriga artist Bernard Schultze and members of the Düsseldorf ZERO group, including as Otto Piene and Günther Uecker. Gruppe 53 was of great significance for the German Informel movement because of its enormous potential for artistic development, which the artists reclaimed for themselves. The exhibitions also increasingly mirrored the evolution of Informel art. Thus Gruppe 53 achieved many of its aims, and the group was disbanded in 1959.
In 1953, a number of young artists from Düsseldorf came together, and formed Gruppe 53. Initially calling themselves the Künstlergruppe Niederrhein 1953 e.V., the artists changed the name of the group to Gruppe 53, after the year in which it was founded. Gruppe 53 organised group exhibitions and other cultural events. The exhibitions became increasingly focused on providing contemporary abstract art with a forum and strengthening its position in the public eye. The group had neither a manifesto, nor one dominant artistic style, but its artists were unified by their rejection of Geometric Abstraction, preferring instead the expressive, gestural, spontaneous painting of Informel art.
Members of Gruppe 53 included Peter Brüning, Winfried Gaul, Gerhard Hoehme, Horst Egon Kalinowski, Herbert Kaufmann, Rolf Sackenheim and Friedrich Wertmann. Other artists exhibiting in the Gruppe 53 shows included Emil Schumacher, Karl Fred Dahmen, Konrad Klapheck, the Quadriga artist Bernard Schultze and members of the Düsseldorf ZERO group, including as Otto Piene and Günther Uecker. Gruppe 53 was of great significance for the German Informel movement because of its enormous potential for artistic development, which the artists reclaimed for themselves. The exhibitions also increasingly mirrored the evolution of Informel art. Thus Gruppe 53 achieved many of its aims, and the group was disbanded in 1959.
Offers