Peter AngermannLight on the Horizon–Haus Lange
On graduating from the academy in Düsseldorf in 1972, Angermann (*1945 Rehau in Upper Franconia, Germany) at first felt that he had left empty-handed; his passion for painting had not exactly been encouraged under Beuys. Not until one year later, after having largely jettisoned Joseph Beuys's ideas, did Angermann venture a new start in the field of painting. Together with his former classmate Milan Kunc he developed a new visual language that was directed closely to everyday life while simultaneously being driven by a witty, anarchic impulse. In 1979 Jan Knap joined the two friends, and group NORMAL was born. They championed the rejection of individualism and consequently created a large number of joint works.
After dissolution of the group NORMAL in 1981 Peter Angermann still retained the socio-critical impulse from his earlier works - but coupled now with the provocative and at times absurdist humour that marks many of his paintings to this day. In 1976 he surprised the world with the first of his “bear paintings”. In fact these are paintings of family life, which keen our eye for the human condition through the stringent use of the bear guise, and which are not afraid of idylls. In 1987 Angermann came up with another surprise - en plein air painting. This group has led him to discover a virtuosity as a colourist that also distinguishes his mature themed works. These two threads - the themed works and the landscapes - alternate without more ado in Angermann's work, and it is this liaison that makes him so unique in today's art scene.
The exhibition at Museum Haus Lange presents a concise overview of the artist's entire painted output, beginning with two early pieces (1959, 1962) followed by works done while studying at the academies, paintings done as part of his activities with group NORMAL (including a work done jointly with Jan Knap), examples of the “bear paintings”, a large number of en plein air paintings, and last but not least a series of themed works extending from 1973 to the present. Film about the artist: „Warum ist der Himmel blau?“ by Susan Chales de Beaulieu.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive monograph published by Verlag für Moderne Kunst, Nuremberg.
Price at the museum 32 euros, retail 38 euros