Karl Bohrmann (born 1928 in Mannheim, died 1998 in Cologne) numbers amongst the most prolific and reflective German artists of his generation. He left an extensive oeuvre as sketch artist, painter, and photographer, as well as a composer of contemporary classical music.

His pictorial work is thus characterized by musical principles such as theme, variation and repetition. Moreover, Bohrmann developed these principles from a technical superstructure into a motif that takes on a superior role in terms of the content of the work. Interior and exterior space, the female figure, tables, chairs, windows, ladders, houses, trees and landscapes consistently appear during Borhmann’s more than fifty years of practice.

Initially, the solitary drawing, the single sheet, stood at the center of his work. Later, Bohrmann would address the processes of seeing and drawing itself in lasting and manifold ways. This is particularly prevalent in the inexhaustible series of drawings from the last decade of his life when such processes recurred in the work like scanning through new verses.

Despite various genres, techniques and subjects from different periods, a distinct thread runs through the images, which manifests itself in an indefatigable sketching of notations that capture the moment – or, as Bohrmann himself called it, in constantly composing “the expression of impression” as an interplay of interior and exterior.

This exhibition reunites several series from different periods: from the single nude to different nudes in various spatial situations (1970s till 1990s). This constellation gives the beholder an impression of the figure-space relationship in Bohrmann’s work. It is a relationship filled with tension – sometimes caused by a horizon indicated with only a sketchy line.

Bohrmann also pursued the energy inherent in space and color in his well-known series of red trees, which can be seen in this exhibition. And for the first time, the gallery will show paintings (acrylic on untreated cotton) from the late 1980s, which are characterized by wide fields of color as well as areas of freed space.

Simultaneous to the Cologne show, the Sinclair House in Bad Homburg will have Karl Bohrmann „Innenräume-Außenräume“ (through October 22) on view. That exhibition then continues on to the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich (December 14, 2006 to February 25, 2007). This is accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue published by Wienand-Verlag and including essays by Andrea Firmenich, Johannes Jannssen and Michael Semff. Further information on Karl Bohrmann may be found on our website.