Josef Herzog Ohne Titel 1989

Stadthaus, Gubelstrasse 22, 6301 Zug, 2. OG West

Josef Herzog is born in Zug in 1939 and attends the Kunstgewerbeschule in Luzern during the 1960s. He studies under Max von Moos, whose influence is particularly evident in Herzog's early watercolours with their planar, two-dimensional and surreal compositions. He then takes up positions in the cantons of Aargau and Zug, receives various grants and commissions for murals in the region (including the school extension in Oberwil) and spends a work semester in London. From the 1970s onwards, the motif of the pyramid moves to the centre of Herzog’s work. He does not create the pyramid from simple lines, it comes into shape at the centre of his canvas through smaller forms and points on the outside. Apart from a piece from this series, the City of Zug’s collection also includes several works from his later creative period, in which the artist focuses on the line as an independent means of expression. This results in grid lines, labyrinths, interconnections, strokes, sweeping changes of direction and networks of varying density in different colours. This suggests an order whilst simultaneously breaking it down in the same move. Josef Herzog successfully uses the line to create a universe that reflects great diversity not only in its colour palette but also in its character.

Frame dimensions: 110.0 x 79.5 cm

KS 493

• abstract

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• colourful