NORBERT PRANGENBERG ›Figuren+Bilder‹

B A R B A R A
G R O S S
G A L E R I E
NORBERT PRANGENBERG
›Figuren+Bilder‹
Exhibition: January 18 - March 2, 2013
With the exhibition ›Figuren+Bilder‹ Barbara Gross Galerie honors Norbert Prangenberg, whose
more than thirty-year career as a painter, sculptor, and creator of drawings came to a premature
end with his death last year. The small ceramics and oil paintings he produced in the last years of
his life comprise the centerpiece of the show. Supplementing these is a selection of early drawings
and paintings, as well as a large clay sculpture.
Prangenberg’s characteristic signature can be seen in this gathering of the different groups of
works. He reacts to the material with great open-mindedness and allows himself to be guided by
the opportunities presented by the clay, watercolors, oil paints, or pencil. The artist’s physical
presence is always palpable; it can be perceived in the traces of the artist’s fingers in the oil paint,
or the imprints of his hands and knuckles in the clay.
In his later paintings the artist essentially departs from the repertoire of geometrical shapes of his
early works and concentrates on “painting colors.” The thick impasto application of the oil paint
creates vivid surface structures, broken up by miniature-like pictures-in-picture. Small, colorful
islands of color refer to the long tradition of abstract painting, but could also be regarded as
citations of Prangenberg’s previous works. Here, the signs and forms that long characterized his
work reappear: circles, rhombuses, waves, floral and mandala-like patterns.
The small ceramics are closely related to the oil paintings, and the two genres enter into a
dialogue in this show. While the distinctive surface relief of the paintings turns them into
sculptural objects, the organically shaped clay figures take on the role of painting support: small
planes glazed in brilliant colors create an intriguing contrast to the muted earth tones of the openpored clay. The title "Figur", which Prangenberg chose for his ceramics, reinforces the impression
of vitality and physicality, while transcending pure abstraction.
At first, the size and simple shapes of the life-sized clay vessels—either standing or reclining
figures—make them seem massive, yet the delicate formation of the surfaces—soft glazes,
patterns and shapes etched into the clay, openings, and flower shapes placed atop the surfaces—
lend them a sense of playful ease.
A processual, intuitive work method is typical of Prangenberg. Especially when it comes to drawing
—a very direct and spontaneous process—he allows himself time. Often, he lets a drawing rest for
a long time before beginning work on it again, adding new lines, a watercolor shape, or more color
to the drawing. In Prangenberg’s own words, the work only ends “whenever I have the feeling,
including in a spiritual sense, that it has a certain mass, an aura that transcends the mere thing
itself."
Norbert Prangenberg, born 1949, Rommerskirchen-Nettesheim, died 2012, Krefeld. Professorship at the
Kunstakademie Munich, 1993–2012. Selected Soloshows: Städtisches Kunstmuseum Spendhaus Reutlingen,
2012, Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen, Magdeburg, 2008, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, 2005,
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Museum, Krefeld, 2004, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster 1996/97, Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld, 1984. Participation in the Sydney Biennial, 1986
and Documenta 7 in Kassel, 1982. His works form part of renowned collections, sich as the Bayerische
Staatsgemäldesammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Graphische Sammlung Museum Ludwig, Köln and
the Lauffs Collection.
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