Norbert Schwontkowski
As an artist, I do not have a certain area on which I concentrate my work. I do not concern myself with anything concrete. I only have this one, most human of themes, life and death—but this hones in on the essential point. This is story enough for me.
Norbert Schwontkowski via Kolumba Museum, 2013
Norbert Schwontkowski (1949–2013, Germany) challenges artistic categorization; his work falls between abstraction, realistic representation, and cartoon. He created his paints from hand-ground pigments mixed with various materials to yield a multitude of textures. Schwontkowski also added metal oxides to the pigments, creating shimmering surfaces that continue to change over time. His palette of pale earth tones, blacks and grays creates a muted, subdued atmosphere, while his carefully worked surfaces and minimal gestures demonstrate his sophisticated paint handling.
