Günther Förg: Wall Paintings. Deichtorhallen Hamburg Photographed by Julian Faulhaber

Günther Förg was a genuine space artist! Already in 1978 while he was still at the academy, Günther Förg began working with colored spaces, or rather, wall paintings. He liked to tell, laughing, how obvious that seemed to him, given that during his studies he occasionally earned some extra money as a housepainter. In total, he created over 140 wall paintings, and a selection will now be on show at the Deichtorhallen. Günther Förg had been looking forward to the exhibition at the Deichtorhallen; in an interview, already several years ago, he clearly organized this important body of work into several types: »... the first were vertical, later horizontal wall bisections. Furthermore, there are color sequences with different colored areas placed next to one another. There were rooms where all four walls were painted in different colors. Various paintings were created in public, as well as semi-public spaces. In these works, the architecture is the main focus; the paint emphasizes it and renders it visible. The color bears reference to the place ... Next came murals with flat areas and stripes, and also wall paintings akin to panel painting.« The critic Hans-Joachim Müller put it this way: »Günther Förg was a genuine space artist .« Exhibition: Deichtorhallen Hamburg, 31/7-25/10/2015