Zeugnis. Zweifel. Zeichen

Abstract paintings along with their often ambiguous visual language are not only difficult to grasp for viewers, but also for art historians to interpret. This is because an abstract work requires a more intensive examination than for example figurative representations. Nevertheless, artists have dealt with events of contemporary history or personal experiences in abstract paintings. These include K. O. Götz, Michael Morgner, Georg Karl Pfahler, Gerhard Richter, K. R. H. Sonderborg, Dieter Tucholke and Günther Uecker. Selected works by these artists show how the relationship between abstraction and reality was defined after 1945. Also, how specific functions have developed to represent contemporary historical events.

• Contemporary History in Abstract Painting after 1945 in the Federal Republic and the GDR
• K. O. Götz, Michael Morgner, Georg Karl Pfahler, Gerhard Richter, K. R. H. Sonderborg, Dieter Tucholke, Günther Uecker
• Publications of the Research Center for Informal Art

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Anne-Kathrin Hinz is an art historian at the Research Center for Informal Art at the Art History Institute of the University of Bonn.