Abstract art pioneer Karl Otto Götz dies, aged 103
August 21, 2017
The German artist was banned from painting by the Nazis but became an influential painter after World War II. Despite going blind towards the end of life, K.O. Götz remained active until his death, at the age of 103.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
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Remembering abstract artist Karl Otto Götz
He was one of the most significant contributors to abstract art and paved the way for modernism. Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke were among his students. German painter Karl Otto Götz has died at the age of 103.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B.Sax
Pioneer of abstract art
Karl Otto Götz is pictured in his house in central-western Germany in front of one of his works. It was at home in Westerwald that he passed away on August 19 at the age of 103. The artist had lived there with his second wife and former student Rissa since the mid-1970s.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Paint and glue
Götz typically created large-scale paintings, covering them with paint and glue before removing the elements while leaving behind lines and shapes. Pictured here are "Vernäht" (Sewn Up, 2003), "Dornbusch" (Thornbush, 2002) and "Eelbo" (2004). The works were shown in 2004 at the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Götz's hometown of Aachen to mark his 90th birthday.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B.Sax
Back to the heart
When Götz turned 100 in 2013, the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin dedicated an exhibition to the representative of informal art. His approach, which emphasized feelings, intuition, spontaneity and coincidence, was a reaction to geometric abstraction.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R.Jensen
Abstract beauty
Götz became famous for his large-scale black-and-white compositions, which seem to resemble explosions. "Abstract is more beautiful," was his motto. Götz, who was invited to take part in both the Venice Biennale and Documenta over the years, had his stylistic roots in surrealism. The two works pictured here were exhibited in the Küppersmühle museum in Duisburg in 2014.
Image: Imago
Painting in piece
In his late 90s Götz lost his sight due to glaucoma. But that didn't keep him from painting - with the help of his wife Rissa. Götz's oeuvre also includes steel reliefs, linocuts and woodcarvings, along with terracotta and ceramic works. He also wrote poetry. In one poem, he composed the line: "Let me paint in peace."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R.Jensen
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German painter Karl Otto Götz, also referred to as K.O. Götz, died at home on Saturday, confirmed the manager of the K.O. Götz and Rissa Foundation on Monday.
Born on February 22, 1914, in Aachen, Götz's career reflected the past century's tumultuous history.
Disapproving of his abstract and surrealist art, the Nazis banned Götz from painting and exhibiting. He nevertheless managed to make a living by painting landscapes.
After World War II, K.O. Götz contributed to rehabilitating Germany's cultural reputation on an international level with his monumental abstract black-and-white paintings.
"After 1945, he was one of the artists who gave our country its cultural dignity back, and he was an important promoter of freedom," said museum director Walter Smerling.
Works by Karl Otto Götz at a Berlin exhibition in 2014Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R.Jensen
He was the only German member of the influential artist collective COBRA. The short-lived avant-garde movement, active from 1948 to 1951, became renowned for its rebellious and spontaneous abstract paintings.
From 1959 to 1979, Götz was a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. His most famous students include Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Franz Erhard Walther and Rissa. The latter became his wife in 1965.
Rissa helped her husband paint towards the end of his life, after he went blind.
A retrospective of Götz's work was held in 2014 for his 100th birthday at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, allowing many to discover his influential works.