PRESENTATION: Norbert Prangenberg

Norbert Prangenberg’s art emerges from a fundamental interaction of hand, eye and material which has manifested itself in a variety of genres – in drawings and in prints, as well as in imaginative sculptures and in his unmistakable painting style. His drawings and paintings are characterized by simple shapes like circles, diamonds, squares, ovals and triangles.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Galerie Karsten Greve Archive

The exhibition with works by Norbert Prangenberg presents  a selection of significant works from various stages of his career. His diverse oeuvre encompasses painting, drawing, and sculpture, reflecting his profound and evolving exploration of material, form, and color. Since the early 1980s, he devoted himself intensively to ceramics, developing a distinctive formal language that established him as one of the leading figures in contemporary German art. His works, characterized by a sensitive balance between spontaneous gesture and compositional rigor, captivate with their tactile quality and expressive intensity. Norbert Prangenberg uses the materiality of the medium through his impasto technique, which in some works lap over the edge and thus become a sculptural object. The layer created by this impasto application of oil paint is ruptured by tiny irregular cuts, revealing parts of the underlying canvas. In other pieces Prangenberg uses copper or zinc, which let the metal of the support shine through, thereby achieving an extraordinary translucent effect. In the 1980s he began working on sculptures. Already outstanding due to their dimensions, the ceramic works recall the vessel as it has been used in the Mediterranean world since antiquity. Both the intense treatment of the surface and the varied use of color give the pieces their characteristic appearance. Norbert Prangenberg was born in 1949 in Rommerskirchen-Nettesheim. During his apprenticeship as a gold and silversmith he produced his first woodcuts and drawings, beginning in 1965. Since the 1980s he has gained international renown through his participation in documenta 7 in Kassel. Starting in 1993 Norbert Prangenberg held a professorship for ceramics and glass at the Kunstakademie in Munich. Norbert Prangenberg passed away in 2012 in Krefeld. The exhibition places a particular focus on Prangenberg’s sculptures and paintings, which stand out for their dynamic materiality and distinctive formal language. In his paintings, he employs thick, impasto layers of paint, creating relief-like textures that imbue the paintings with a sculptural presence. His small-format oil paintings impress with their powerful gestural texture and subtle color transparency. In his sculptures, Prangenberg explores the interplay of volume and structure, often drawing inspiration from archaic forms. His ceramic works feature irregularly modeled surfaces, incorporating incisions and fingerprints that lend them a unique, handcrafted character. In addition to sculptures, there are on show paintings and works on paper. His color-intensive paintings captivate with their gestural texture and transparency. Norbert Prangenberg uses the materiality of the medium through his impasto technique, which in some works lap over the edge and thus become a sculptural object. The layer created by this impasto application of oil paint is ruptured by tiny irregular cuts, revealing parts of the underlying canvas. In other pieces Prangenberg uses copper or zinc, which let the metal of the support shine through, thereby achieving an extraordinary translucent effect. In the 1980s he began working on sculptures. Already outstanding due to their dimensions, the ceramic works recall the vessel as it has been used in the Mediterranean world since antiquity. Both the intense treatment of the surface and the varied use of color give the pieces their characteristic appearance. Norbert Prangenberg was born in 1949 in Rommerskirchen-Nettesheim. During his apprenticeship as a gold and silversmith he produced his first woodcuts and drawings, beginning in 1965. Since the 1980s he has gained international renown through his participation in documenta 7 in Kassel. Starting in 1993 Norbert Prangenberg held a professorship for ceramics and glass at the Kunstakademie in Munich. Norbert Prangenberg passed away in 2012 in Krefeld.

Photo left: Norbert Prangenberg, Figur, ca. 1998, Terracotta, glazed, h: 49.5 cm ø 30 cm (h: 19 1/2 in ø 11 3/4 in), Courtesy Galerie Karsten Greve. Photo right: Norbert Prangenberg, Der Maler, 2009, Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 cm (19 2/3 x 15 3/4 in), Signed, titled, dated und inscribed verso on the hole screen: Norbert Prangenberg „Der Maler“, 6.1.2009 in Brunnen Niederarnbach, Courtesy Galerie Karsten Greve

Info: Galerie Karsten Greve, Via Maistra 4, St. Moritz, Switzerland, Duration: 29/3-28/6/2025, Days & Hours: Mon-Sat 10:00-13:00 & 14:00-18:30, https://galerie-karsten-greve.com/