Norbert Kricke

Norbert Kricke (* 30 November 1922 in Düsseldorf; † 28 June 1984 ibid.) was a German sculptor.

Through his metallic spatial sculptures, he became one of the most important representatives of German post-war modernism.
Norbert Kricke begins his studies in 1946 in Berlin at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste where Richard Scheibe appoints him as his master student. In 1947 Kricke moves back to Düsseldorf and establishes a studio there. During this time, he works as a freelance artist. Two years later, he creates his first "Raumplastiken" (spatial sculptures), which consist of filigree steel lines that stretch dynamically through the room. Working mainly with thin, flexible metal, Norbert Kricke creates sculptures with dynamic movement that allow space and time to melt together.

First exhibition and Norbert Kricke's collaboration with Yves Klein


Major solo exhibitions take place in 1955 at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and the Municipal Gallery in Istanbul. In 1957, a solo exhibition follows in Paris at the Galerie Iris Clert. Along with Robert Adams and Yves Klein, Kricke wins the competition for the artistic design of the New City Theatre in Gelsenkirchen. Norbert Kricke then creates a relief for the "Kleines Haus", which emphasizes the "floating lightness of the construction" (Werner Ruhnau, 1992).
Upon the suggestion of Siegfried Giedion and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts in Chicago awards him the Art Prize in 1957. In 1959 Kricke takes part in the documenta in Kassel. That same year he works with Walter Gropius on the water design for the new university building in Baghdad which in the end is not realized. On the occasion of the second Federal Garden Show in 1969, Kricke is invited to create a sculptural water basin in Dortmund’s Westfalenpark.

International activities of Norbert Kricke


In 1961 the placement of the sculpture "Große Mannesmann" in Düsseldorf is celebrated. Furthermore, major solo exhibitions are held at the Museum of Modern Art and the Lefrebe Gallery in New York. The following year, Norbert Kricke is the only German sculptor represented at the world exhibition "Art since 1950" in Seattle.
At the Venice Biennale in 1964, the artist is shown in the German pavilion with a solo exhibition. In addition, he participated again in the documenta in Kassel in the same year. He receives a chair of sculpture at the "Staatliche Kunstakademie" in Düsseldorf.
In 1965, during an extended stay in the USA, a large spatial sculpture is installed in front of the County Museum of Art in Los Angeles. Many exhibitions follow, including his second solo exhibition at the Lefrebe Gallery in New York in 1968 and the exhibition "Norbert Kricke and His Students" at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Bonn in 1969.
In 1970 he is awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon. In 1971 he receives the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Prize of the City of Duisburg and in 1975 the Federal Cross of Merit, First Class.
With his appointment as director of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1972, Kricke establishes the tradition of the tour of the academy, an annual exhibition of students' semester projects held on the premises of the academy.

Norbert Kricke dies in Düsseldorf on June 28, 1984.

Flächenbahn, 1957, steel on high bar and steel plinth, nickel plated, 31 × 64,8 × 0,2 cm

Raumplastik, 1957 - 1959, steel, coated (silver bronze), 22,2 × 20 × 22 cm

63/036, 1963, India ink on paper, 61 × 43,4 cm

Raumplastik, 1961, stainless steel on black granite base, 90 × 48 × 49 cm

Raumplastik Schwarz-Rot, 1955, steel, painted, on black stone base with stone plinth, 32 × 31 × 27 cm

54/052, 1954, charcoal on paper, 60,8 × 43 cm

Raumplastik Gelb-Weiß, 1956, Painted steel on a wooden base, 31 × 37 × 34 cm

Vita

1946/47
Studies at the University of Fine Arts, Berlin
1947
Studio in Düsseldorf
1949
First room sculptures
1955
Solo exhibitions at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and the Municipal Gallery in Istanbul
1955/56
Large room sculpture at the new opera house in Münster, Westphalia
1957
Solo exhibition in Paris at the Galerie Iris Clert. The team assembled by Kricke with Robert Adams and Yves Klein wins the competition for the artistic design of the new Gelsenkirchen municipal theatre.
1958
Prize of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago (On the suggestion of Siegfried Giedion and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe)
1959
Collaboration with Walter Gropius (water designs for the new university building in Baghdad) Participation in Documenta II, Kassel
1960
Exhibition at the Kunsthalle Bern, with Bernhard Luginbühl and Jean Tinguely
1961
Installation of the room sculpture "Große Mannesmann" in Düsseldorf. First solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. First solo exhibition at the Lefrebe Gallery, New York.
1962
Participation in "Art since 1950" at the World's Fair in Seattle, USA, as the only German sculptor
1963
Trip to Mexico. Grand Art Prize of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for Sculpture.
1964
Solo exhibition in the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Participation in Documenta III, Kassel. Begins teaching at the Staatliche Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf Participates in the exhibition "Painting and Sculpture of a decade 54 - 64" at the Tate Gallery, London.
1965
Large room sculpture in front of the County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. Longer stay in the USA
1967
The spatial sculpture "Große Mannesmann" is placed in front of the German pavilion at the World's Fair in Montreal. Participation in "Dix Ans d'Art Vivant", Fondation Maeght, St. Paul-de-Vence.
1968
Second solo exhibition at Lefrebe Gallery, New York
1969
Exhibition "Norbert Kricke and his pupils" at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn
1971
Wilhelm Lehmbruck Prize of the City of Duisburg
1972
Appointed Director of the State Academy of Arts, Düsseldorf