Event by Galleri K

We are pleased to present a selection of woodcuts by Franz Gertsch (1930-2022), Swiss painter and printmaker known for his large format photorealistic portraits and detailed studies of nature.

Gertsch was born 8 March 1930 in Mörigen, Switzerland. Between 1947 and 1952 he studied with Max von Mühlenen and Hans Schwarzenbach in Bern and had his first individual exhibition at the Simmen Gallery there in 1951. In 1972, he took part in the documenta 5 in Kassel with his painting "Medici". He participated in the 1978 and 2003 Venice Biennale and had a solo show there in 1999. Gertsch’s woodcuts were first shown at the MoMA, NY, in 1990, curated by Riva Castleman.

His work has since been presented at several retrospective exhibitions, the latest due to open in June 2024 at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen, Denmark, curated by Kirsten Degel. The exhibition will travel to Deichtorhalle, Hamburg, on view from 12 December 2024 - 4 May 2025.

Gertsch died on 21 December 2022, at the age of 92 in Riggisberg in Canton Bern.

From 1976 to 2013 Gertsch created a total of 28 paintings and 15 monochrome woodcuts; he worked on a single composition for up to a year. In 1986, Gertsch took a break from painting to master the woodcut printmaking technique, in which he has pioneered new territory. In his woodcuts, the artist is said to use colour expressive rather than realistically, in order to define anew the relationship between colour and three-dimensional space. The first motifs were monumental portraits of young women, the various prints were all in different colours and thus assumed the character of individual sheets. In addition to the detailed work in cutting the wooden plates, Gertsch’s graphic prints entail time-consuming mixing and colour testing of binder and mineral pigments especially imported from Japan, and thorough testing of hand-made Japan paper for the best possible transfer of colour from the print plates to the finished result. Colour played a central role for Gertsch – to the artist, the photographic image becomes a bearer of abstract qualities in colour and space. In his own words: «The more I focus on the photographic image, the more I move away from it» – towards recognizing that colour and the work has their own life, separate from the motif.

The exhibition is open until 23 March 2024.