Reiner Karge (1944-1994) - Bodybuilder

Reiner Karge (1944–1994), Bodybuilder, unique work on paper, 1984, mixed media, 62 x 42 cm
Beautifully framed work, in good condition.
Good overall condition, with slight signs of age.

Beautifully framed work (the frame is offered as a complimentary gift)

Dimensions: 62 x 42 cm (artwork) + frame


# REINER KARGE (1944–1994)

**German painter and artist, a leading figure in the European Neo-Expressionist painting of the second half of the 20th century.**

Reiner Karge was born in 1944 in Bad Schwartau, near Hamburg, the city where he received his artistic training. From a very young age, he showed a strong interest in the visual arts, attending evening classes at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg and later the Kunstschule Alsterdamm, where he pursued further studies in painting and graphic art.

Alongside his university studies in biology and education, he continued his artistic training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, where he came into contact with notable figures on the German art scene, including Klaus Bendixen, KP Brehmer and Alfred Hrdlicka.

His artistic practice developed within the sphere of Expressionist figuration, characterized by a strong emotional dimension, vigorous brushwork and an intense, symbolic use of color. His works explore themes related to the human condition, nature, loneliness and the psychological tensions of the individual, through images that are often enigmatic and dramatically powerful.

During the 1970s, he took part in the activities of German artist groups, including *Guernica* and *Junge Realisten*, which were interested in an art that could engage with contemporary social and cultural issues.

From 1978 onward, he lived in Italy, in Castellaro, in the Ligurian Riviera hinterland, where he developed a new phase in his artistic practice. His encounter with the Mediterranean landscape and Italian cultural life helped enrich his pictorial language, in which the human figure, plant forms and symbolic allusions took on an increasingly central role.

His work of the 1980s is distinguished by visually striking compositions in which bodies, faces and figures emerge from settings charged with narrative tension. Color, often vivid and contrasting, becomes an essential element in constructing space and expressing emotional states.

His exhibition activity spanned Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. Documented highlights include solo exhibitions in Hamburg and Göttingen, an exhibition at Galerie A16 in Zurich in 1983, the exhibition *Unsettling Presences* in Sanremo in 1985, and an exhibition in Freienbach, Switzerland, in 1986.

During his time in Liguria, Karge taught painting and printmaking in Sanremo, actively participating in the local cultural scene and building relationships with intellectuals and poets, including Giuseppe Conte and Lamberto Garzia.

An artist with many interests, he complemented his painting with work in graphic art, music and theater, developing a creative practice in which different forms of expression intertwined.

His work has been the subject of studies and publications, including the monograph *Reiner Karge*, edited by Sandra Reberschak and published by Fabbri Editori in 1989.

Reiner Karge’s painting is situated within the European Neo-Expressionist movement, distinguished by its distinctive fusion of Northern sensibility and Mediterranean influences, psychological intensity, vigorous brushwork and rich color.

### Selected bibliography

- Sandra Reberschak, *Reiner Karge*, Fabbri Editori, Milan, 1989.
- Germano Beringheli, *Dictionary of Ligurian Artists*, 1991.
- Manya Brunzema, entry “Karge, Reiner,” in *Der neue Rump – Lexikon der bildenden Künstler Hamburgs*, 2013.



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