Ulrich Rückriem

Rückriem ( born September 30, 1938 in Dusseldorf ) is a living in Cologne and London sculptor who is often associated with Minimalism, process art and conceptual art.

Life and work

Rückriem, which until 1959 trained as a stone mason in Düren 1957, worked on the cathedral workshop in Cologne and studied at the Cologne factory schools with Ludwig Gies. At the same time he began working as a freelance artist. 1966/1967 he came forward with sculptures made of wooden beams, from 1968 he designed stone sculptures. Here was formed today to be distinctive artistic process out: typically divides Rückriem a stone block of severely reduced cubic form and puts the parts back together then.

From 1969 Rückriem worked in a shared studio with Blinky Palermo in Mönchengladbach. Moreover, he lived and worked from 1963 to 1971 in Noervenich in its castle Noervenich in Clonegal, County Carlow, Ireland, and Normandy. In 1974 he became professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, in 1984 at the Art Academy in Dusseldorf and 1988 at the Städel School in Frankfurt am Main.

2010 showed the Neues Museum Nuremberg Rückriem of eleven stone cubes existing installation granite bleu de Vire for the third time, along with other works by the artist. The eleven stones are - arranged on the square bottom plates of the museum as on a chessboard - in analogy to the queens problem. The work will be presented the concept of the artist every five years according to a new arrangement. There are doing 341 different arrangements ( "different" in the sense that they can not be transferred by rotation or reflection of the chessboard into one another respectively ).

Honors and Awards

Exhibitions and Collections

Rückriem was dedicated to a variety of solo shows, for example, 2003 in the New National Gallery, Berlin. In addition Rückriem took since 1966 has participated in numerous international group exhibitions, including in 1972 at the Documenta 5 in Kassel in the Department of Individual Mythologies processes, 1978 at the Biennale di Venezia, together with Dieter Krieg, 1982 at the documenta 7, 1984 From here - Two months new German art in Dusseldorf, 1987 at the documenta 8 or 1992 at the documenta IX.

Rückriem sculptures are represented in many international collections and museums, including, for example, in the sculpture garden of the Neues Museum Nuremberg, the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, or the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona. On the occasion of his 70th birthday, his archive about the artist had in 2008 the art collection of the Ruhr- University Bochum.

In 1994, the sculpture halls Rückriem was opened in Rommerskirchen - Sinsteden. In two halls and outdoor areas are presented on 2000 sqm approx 100 sculptures. The sculpture hall is the cultural center Sinsteden / Agricultural Museum Sinsteden affiliated.

Works in public space

Many works Rückriem are freely accessible as public art. His sculpture granite Rosa Porrino, for example, stands at the old market in the center of Lörrach Lörrach as part of the Sculpture Trail. More sculptures by Rückriem stand outside the headquarters of the Goethe Institute in Munich, next to the New National Gallery in Berlin, Cologne Sculpture Park or in front of the headquarters of Novartis in Basel and in the city garden food.

End of June 2011 was set up his 80 -tonne stone sculpture "origin" in front of the Leopold -Hoesch Museum in Düren. It consists of Anröchter dolomite.

For the southern courtyard of the Reichstag Rückriem created two floor sculptures made ​​of granite that pick up and complement the architectural space situation, see works of art in the Reichstag building.

Heine Memorial ( 1982) - Bonn, Alterzoll

Castell ( 1991) 24-pc, granite, wood sculptures Halden Zollverein colliery Zollverein (UNESCO World Heritage ), Essen

Sculpture, sculptures forest Halden Zollverein colliery Zollverein (UNESCO World Heritage ), Essen

TDC Anröchter dolomite (1983 ) - Moltkeplatz Food

Granite ( Normandy ), split, cut, 1985 New National Gallery in Berlin

Granite Bleu de Vire, cut (1987 ), Bochum

Rosa Porrino granite in Lörrach

Memorial (1966 ) in Noervenich - Frauwüllesheim ( stele consists of five elements )

Stone (granite Bleu de vire from Normandy ) by the sculptor in the Evangelical Church Centre Kronsberg, 2012