EL SOURDOG HEX e.V. will be presenting the works of German artist Erwin Heerich (b. November 29th, 1922 in Kassel; d. November 6th, 2004 in Meerbusch-Osterath) from March 3rd until April 26th, 2008.
The Schilderwald exhibition, which translates as "sign-post forest" will feature paintings, cardboard sculptures and drawings by the artist completed between 1953 and 1967.

Heerich's work is unlike that of any other contemporary artist, but comes closest to Constructivism when placed in a historical context (source: Kunstverein Düsseldorf 1972). More than 50 years ago, Erwin Heerich stacked small cardboard boxes atop one another, meticulously cutting a door and window into each of them. He stuck a little flag into the top of the construction and then dubbed it a "castle." The finished piece is an artwork tied to a playful and childlike sensibility. Yet at the same time, it demonstrates the great precision that would go on to characterize his later geometric sculptures (e.g., his circles, cones, pyramids and cubes). Heerich would use these shapes as a means of removing all evidence of himself from his work, intending for it to solely adhere to a higher and purely mathematical order.
To a certain extent, he was the antithesis of Joseph Beuys, whom he knew from his years of studying under Ewald Mataré in Düsseldorf. The two of them even shared a studio for a period of time (source: Die Zeit 2004, issue 47).

Heerich was the eternal planner, wielding control over geometric shapes; Beuys was the rabble rouser and zealot. Yet they were bonded by a deep-seated belief in high art (source: Die Zeit 2004, issue 47).

Both Heerich and Beuys sought to create art that was at once nonchalant and self-explanatory - art that would readily find a home in the everyday world. Both artists had a predilection for mysticism, with Heerich expressing it through his sculptures and Beuys opting for installation and performance pieces in which he also starred. And both attained great success, with Heerich: being invited to show his work at the documenta; garnering many publicly commissioned projects; and eventually finding in the Hombroich Museum Island the perfect place to display his sculptures of ideal forms (source: Die Zeit 2004, issue 47).

Influenced by Mataré, Heerich initially focused on representational art. Around 1960, he turned to nature and household objects as a source of inspiration from which to develop geometric sculptures, made up of regularly occurring units of measurement. During the Sixties and Seventies, Heerich looked to his drawings and carton sculptures for the repertoire of shapes that would prevail in his work for the rest of his life.

The artist was a member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (Academy of the Arts, Berlin) and was recognized with acclaimed distinctions such as the Willi Grohmann Award, the Piepenbrock Award for Sculpture and Frankfurt am Main's Max Beckmann Award. His works have been shown at numerous exhibitions in Germany and abroad (source: Wikipedia).

Exhibition:
March 3 – April 26, 2008
Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 6pm
Admission is free