Reiner Karge (1944-1994) - Vaso

Reiner Karge (1944–1994), Vase, unique work on paper, 1983, mixed media, 62 x 46 cm
Beautifully framed work, in good condition.
Overall good condition, with slight signs of age.

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

Dimensions: 62 x 46 cm (the work) + frame


# REINER KARGE (1944–1994)

**German painter and artist, a leading figure in 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 arts.

Alongside his university studies in biology and education, he continued his artistic training at the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts, coming into contact with significant figures in 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 component, 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 highly dramatic.

During the 1970s, he took part in the activities of German art groups, including *Guernica* and *Junge Realisten*, which sought to engage with contemporary social and cultural issues through art.

From 1978 onward, he settled 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 painterly language, in which the human figure, plant forms and symbolic suggestions took on an increasingly central role.

His work from the 1980s is distinguished by compositions with a powerful visual impact, 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 extended across Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. Documented milestones 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 area's cultural life and forming connections with intellectuals and poets, including Giuseppe Conte and Lamberto Garzia.

An artist with wide-ranging interests, he supplemented his painting with work in graphic arts, music and theatre, 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 belongs to the field of European neo-expressionist art, distinguished by its distinctive fusion of Northern sensibility and Mediterranean influences, psychological intensity, forceful 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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