25 May – 02 September 2012

In 1963, having spent a long time in Paris, Fruhtrunk achieved his breakthrough with an exhibition at the Museum am Ostwall in Dortmund. For many years, he was one of the most talkedabout artists in Germany. Yet after his early death, his name was increasingly forgotten.
In retrospect, Fruhtrunk’s abstract geometric, non-figurative painting, coupled with his social and political engagement, distinguish him as one of the most enduring and inspirational figures in postwar German art. Rekindling public awareness of this artist’s pivotal role is one of the main aims of this exhibition.
The exquisite painterly sensitivity and quality of his oeuvre go hand in hand with an earnest endeavour to address the issues of the modern
age and contribute to the ideal of individual self-determination.
In pursuit of this, Fruhtrunk developed a singular system of painting
that articulates the quest for enlightenment by activating a way of
seeing that involves confronting fundamental existential questions.
While this exhibition charts his career in broadly chronological order, it also includes a section devoted to the previously unacknowledged influence of music on Fruhtrunk’s work. In addition, some small studies he evidently made to explore the use of different carriers, and how different techniques affect the behaviour of paint can be seen for the first time.

The exhibition is a Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein production, curated
by Friedemann Malsch.