Düsseldorf – 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 are only now being rediscovered. For many years, the German artist taught at the School of Art in Augsburg and later at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Throughout this time, he persistently and continuously developed a unique and comprehensive oeuvre. Like their American colleagues, other German artists, such as Blinky Palermo and Imi Knoebel, pursued their own work along similar paths. In contrast, Heinz Butz is the ‘Minimalist’ among the shaped canvas artists. He thus – modestly – calls his own works Bildobjekte, i.e. ‘pictorial objects’. Smaller solo exhibitions have been presented both in Augsburg and at Galerie Fred Jahn in Munich. Recently, within the context of the new presentation of its collection, 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. Now, for the first time ever, important works by Heinz Butz will also be presented in Düsseldorf.
