K. R. H. Sonderborg
1923 Sønderborg - 2008 Hamburg
Iconic and major important artist (of the Informel) & so called "artist without atelier".
„Ich kann nur soviel zu meinen Bildern sagen, dass ich weiß, dass ich sie gemacht habe, wo ich sie gemacht habe und wann ich sie gemacht habe.“ K. R. H. Sonderborg
This statement in the 1960s to the Munich gallerist Otto Stangl is a prime example that K. R. H. Sonderborg was never interested to have his work classified in art-historical categories. It furthermore answers why some of his works are dated, moreover sometimes inclusive time and timeframe of painting, instead of signed.
Kurt Rudolf Hoffmann, officially called himself in 1951 after his place of birth K.R.H. Sonderborg so as not to be identified as a German artist after the war. Before studying at the Landeskunstschule in Hamburg with Willem Grimm and Maria May, Sonderborg spent a year studying privately with the painter Ewald Becker-Carus in Hamburg. In Hamburg, Sonderborg first came into contact with an environment that fascinated him to the end and offered him subjects: First of all, the great river Elbe and the port of Hamburg with its pontoons, ships and cranes as well as the tracks of the freight yards, which where later joined by the metropolises and their airports. Big city impressions, triggered by stays in Paris, London and New York, environmental noise and jazz - his father is a jazz musician - play a central role in Sonderborg. Throughout his life, he was a „Swingboy” who liked to eat well, roamed the streets for days and frequented the local jazz clubs extensively.
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This major work by K.R.H. Sonderborg is influenced by the dynamics of the maelstroms, such as the "Moskenstraumen" between the Lofoten. Sonderborg has traveled them several times and captured them in his work - they show up consistently in the way that is so characteristic of him. Also the painting contains Sonderborg's typical themes of music, people, cosmopolitanism and, as so often, a good dose of humour and irony.
An extraordinarily dynamic work of art. This early masterpiece from year 1965 comes from the legendary New York art collection of Hannelore B. Schulhof.
It was exhibited for the first time at "The Lefebre Gallery" / New York.
// A brief history of "The Lefebre Gallery": The gallery was established in 1960 by John and Ljuba Lefebre at 47 East 77th Street in Manhattan, New York. With the inaugural exhibition, “A Collector in Paris becomes an Art Dealer in New York”, the Lefebre Gallery established a reputation for mounting important exhibitions of post war European art. Lefebre was the only American art dealer to represent Cobra artists such as Asger Jorn, Pierre Alechinsky, Corneille, Christian Dotremont, Carl-Henning Pedersen, and Reinhoud. Other artists represented by the Lefebre Gallery included Horst Antes, Pol Bury, Julius Bissier, Klaus Fussmann, Hans Hartung, Serge Polikoff, Antonio Segui, Wallasse Ting, among others. The gallery closed following the death of John Lefebre in 1986. As Thomas Messer, former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum noted of Lefebre’s uniquely focused stable of artists, “Over a quarter century, John Lefebre chose to further the distinguished yet generally neglected and commercially difficult work of European postwar artists. He did so with total devotion, meticulous attention, and ultimately, rewarding success.”
Ink on cream-coloured vellum on linen
Signed & dated
Verso - label & inscribed
Frame - custom made
Acrylic glass, UV 100
Size 111 x 80 cm
Provenance | Gallery "Lefebre New York" USA, Private Collection of "Hannelore B. Schulhof / New York" USA, Phillips New York Auctioneers, Private Collection Germany, Private Collection Denmark
Differential taxation according to § 25a UStG. No taxes included. | Differenzbesteuerung nach § 25a UStG. Kunstgegenstände und Sammlungsstücke, Sonderregelung.
