Winfred Gaul (Düsseldorf 1928 - 2003)

One of the artists who marked abstract research in the second half of the 20th century, he was a leading figure in painting in Germany throughout the second half of the 20th century. In the field of painting he debuted with paintings of an informal matrix, a current that he abandoned at the beginning of the 1960s, in conjunction with his stay in Rome, in favour of the so-called signal period. He had ties with Italy, exhibited in 1968 in Genoa and the following year met the artist Gianfranco Zappettini, with whom he formed a strong friendship. In 1973 he had his first retrospective exhibition at the Westfälischer Kunstverein in Münster. In 1977 he returned to Kassel, invited to 'documenta 6' with the 'Markierungen'. His works on cardboard known as 'black paintings' and 'recycling' characterise the two-year period 1981-1983. The production of the last two decades is set on corsive compositions calibrated on colour contrasts.