Konrad Klapheck

Biographical Data

Born in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1935. He lives and works in Düsseldorf. From 1954 to 1956, Konrad Klapheck studies at the Kunst Akademie in Düsseldorf (where his father had taught Art History until 1934). His first individual exhibition takes place
in 1959.

Brief Chronology

Since the very beginning, Konrad Klapheck’s painting seems to be quite objective, quite close to realism. In 1955 he presents his first Machine à écrire which is followed by telephones, faucets, irons, etc. He paints everyday life objects in a simplified, “strong and precise” manner. He gives a soul, dramatic or ironic intentions to unanimated objects conceived as metaphors of “the human comedy”. The titles he gives his pieces: La Logique des Femmes (1965) to a sewing machine, Le Potentat (1981) to a writing machine, Le Sauvetage (1989) to a key, confer an autobiographic and symbolic dimension on the objects. In 1997 he begins working with the human figure and depicts interior nudes, basing his work in old erotic pictures and autobiographic elements. About his work he says: “My main weapons are humor and precision. Only the coldness of precision allows the translation of the fire in the soul, and only humor allows the translation of what we have seen. I must put no limits to my subjectivity in order to obtain objective canvases. All the enigmas and solutions of life are inside oneself.”

P.L.T.

www.konradklapheck.de

Klapheck

L’impatience du Sphinx, 2004, Lithography, 56 x 71,2 cm / 22,0 x 28,0 in.