overview

The poetically abstract oeuvre of the German artist Jürgen Partenheimer (*1947 in Munich, DE) stands in the tradition of modernism, from which he consistently develops his work. In various forms of artistic expression – painting, sculpture, works on paper, artists books and text - he combines minimalist formal vocabulary with lyrical content. His work is characterized by an extraordinary relationship of line and form that invite to free association and trust the world of imagination. While avoiding the narrative, Partenheimer explores in his art a mental, geographical, historical and political space for a new correlation beyond sensual perception. Thus, Partenheimer could be described as a cartographer of imaginary worlds: he creates a universe in which the work of art becomes legible as a sign and event within a metaphysical, spiritual reality. For Partenheimer, abstract art is not self-referential, but opens up the possibility of transforming the movement of thought into a visible form. This unique approach was defined by the artist as "metaphysical realism".

 

Jürgen Partenheimer was represented internationally as early as the 1980s with participations at the Biennales of Paris (1980), São Paulo (1981) and Venice (1986). Solo exhibitions of the artist's work have been held by the National Gallery Berlin (1988), the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (1997), the National Museum of Fine Art, Beijing (2001), the CGAC in Santiago de Compostela (1999 and 2004), the S.M.A.K. in Gent (2002), the Pinacoteca do Estado in São Paulo (2004), the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham and the Kunstmuseum Bonn (both 2008), and most recently at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Gemeente Museum Den Haag, The Falckenberg Collection-Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (all 2014) and the Musée Ariana, Geneva (2016). Jürgen Partenheimer has taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, the University of California, Davis, the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, the Royal College of Art, Edinburgh, the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. Until 2011 he held a guest professorship for painting at the Muthesius Kunsthochschule Kiel.


→ CV Jürgen Partenheimer

works
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Maze VIII, 2024
    Maze VIII, 2024
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Spectral Void (Beyond Possessive Space), 2024
    Spectral Void (Beyond Possessive Space), 2024
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Spirit (mapping), 2023 #4
    Spirit (mapping), 2023 #4
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Shoji (Ex), 2024
    Shoji (Ex), 2024
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Spectral Void (Beyond Possessive Space), 2024
    Spectral Void (Beyond Possessive Space), 2024
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Weltachse, 1998
    Weltachse, 1998
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Blütenherz, 2021
    Blütenherz, 2021
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Der Keil 100 Poets #23, Ingeborg Bachmann, 2017
    Der Keil 100 Poets #23, Ingeborg Bachmann, 2017
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Drenched Moon Rising III, 2022
    Drenched Moon Rising III, 2022
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Easy Pieces, 2024
    Easy Pieces, 2024
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Il mistero dell'arrivo IV, 2022
    Il mistero dell'arrivo IV, 2022
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Kalliope II, #5, 2011
    Kalliope II, #5, 2011
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, La Fortune (la robe des choses) II, 2022
    La Fortune (la robe des choses) II, 2022
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Maze IV, 2022
    Maze IV, 2022
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Kalliope III, AP 3, 2012
    Kalliope III, AP 3, 2012
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Maze V, 2022
    Maze V, 2022
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Mind-Scape, 2024 #1
    Mind-Scape, 2024 #1
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Mind-Scape II b, 2023
    Mind-Scape II b, 2023
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Nü-lo und T'u-ssu 100 Poets #14, Li Bai, 2019
    Nü-lo und T'u-ssu 100 Poets #14, Li Bai, 2019
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Mind-Scape VII, 2024
    Mind-Scape VII, 2024
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Silence and Gloom. 100 Poets #93a, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 2020
    Silence and Gloom. 100 Poets #93a, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 2020
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Topos II, 2020
    Topos II, 2020
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Zones, 2022
    Zones, 2022
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Spectral Void Reframed I (Houston), 2024
    Spectral Void Reframed I (Houston), 2024
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Weltachse (Lager), 1993/2000
    Weltachse (Lager), 1993/2000
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Tinkerbelle 100 Poets #81, Anne Sexton, 2020
    Tinkerbelle 100 Poets #81, Anne Sexton, 2020
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Kalliope III, #6, 2011
    Kalliope III, #6, 2011
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Hiding Pieces of Light. 100 Poets #80 W.S.Merwin, 2020
    Hiding Pieces of Light. 100 Poets #80 W.S.Merwin, 2020
  • Jürgen Partenheimer, Gewebte Zeit. 100 Poets #87 Saiokuken Socho, 2020
    Gewebte Zeit. 100 Poets #87 Saiokuken Socho, 2020
installation shots
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