Bilder und Bildobjekte I Pictures and pictorial objects is the second solo show by Heinz Butz at SCHÖNEWALD, comprising more than 50 Bildobjekte.
Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Stella, and Barnett Newman are considered pioneers of the shaped canvas. During the 1960s in New York, they created irregularly shaped and, for the most part, monochrome canvases – a novelty within the history of art. Lesser known is the fact that, parallel to this, Heinz Butz (*1925 in Dillingen) embarked upon a similar path in Munich. The difference: The formats of the works by the American artists are enormous, while Heinz Butz’s paintings are intimate, intellectual, and meditative. And whereas Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Stella, and Barnett Newman achieved international notoriety, the small-format treasures created by Heinz Butz have only been rediscovered during the last decade.
Heinz Butz is the ‘Minimalist’ among the shaped canvas artists. He thus – modestly – calls his own works Bildobjekte, i.e. ‘pictorial objects’. These Bildobjekte tell no stories and show no figural motifs. Despite their abstraction, these works generate significant reactions in the observer – acting like a visual dynamo that constantly gives off energy.
Also, Heinz Butz is member of the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste since 1995. Within the context of the new presentation of its collection in 2015, the generously expanded Lenbachhaus has dedicated an entire gallery to a group of works by Heinz Butz – a virtual rediscovery of the artist for the contemporary art world. Solo exhibitions have been presented in Augsburg, at Galerie Fred Jahn in Munich and at Galerie Michael Haas, Zurich and Berlin.
For many years, the German artist taught at the School of Art in Augsburg and later at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. He lives and works in Munich.
A monography on Heinz Butz Malerei 1949 –2018 with text contributions by Gottfried Boehm and Eva Huttenlauch was published by Sieveking Verlag in 2018.
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1 Gottfried Boehm: Das Handwerk des Auges. In: Heinz Butz: Malerei 1949 –2018, Sieveking Verlag, Munich 2018, p. 10.
