Harald Winter

Harald Winter

Harald Winter, born in 1953, is a native of Herrsching-am-Ammersee west of Munich, Bavaria. He works in the fields of drawing, painting, sculpture and performance.

Life

After his Abitur, the final secondary school examinations in 1973, he entered the Nuremberg Academy of Arts (“Akademie der Bildenden Künste Nürnberg”) and completed his studies in 1978.^[1] He lives in the countryside near Nuremberg, Germany, and has a secondary residence in Berlin and Castellabate, Italy. His picture "Neun Leute aus der Provinz/ Countryfolk" (oil on canvas, 350 cm/200 cm, 1981) was attracting a first attention during the presentation in Munich, Haus der Kunst, Kunstsalon in 1982.^[2]

Initiated by the Italian Consulate General of Geneva^[3] and the Italian Embassy, a large exhibition of his works was opened at the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in January 2010.^[4][5]

In the year 2011 he is presented with an award for culture. (Forchheimer Kulturpreis 2011)

Works

• Portrait of Dr. Amedeo Colella, neapolitan writer, crayon on handmade paper, 2007,

actual size: 75 cm/54 cm, collection Colella

• Invecchiarano insieme, water colour on handmade paper, 2001,

actual size: 54/37 cm, collection Colella

• Sonntagsausflug, oil on canvas, 1990,

actual size: 420/210 cm, collection Dr. Hawranek

Castellabate Project

The Castellabate project^[6][7]is a continuing project without any commercial aspect; the pictures are not in trade. In this portrait the artist tries to unveil also the changes. 18 years ago in 1998 the project started. A first interim report was shown in 2001 at Naples, Goethe Institut, supported by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen,^[8] a second show in 2007 at the Castello of Castellabate , supported by the German Consulate of Napels. This idea was the reason for the United Nations to present the show Le petit tour (2010).

"The images here capture the daily lives of fellow human beings. We can all relate to these everyday situations, regardless of our background and culture. These particularities of the Italian way of life, interpreted by a German artist, show us that in the fundamental aspects of our existence, we are all connected as the human family. When we embrace our differences, we also see our similarities. As we now start a new decade, this exhibition is a most timely call for continued dialogue to strengthen tolerance and trust that is the necessary foundation for overcoming those challenges through collective efforts."

Opening remarks by Mr. Sergei A. Ordzhonikidze United Nations Under-Secretary-General Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, 11 January 2010

Reviews:

il giornale italiano, pagina 5^[9]

il giornale del cilento:^[10]

Fränkischer Tag:^[11]

Nordbayrische Nachrichten:^[12]

topsy-turvy

Layered in both their physical style and the subject matter they address, Harald Winter’s works are amalgamations of fragmented ideas and free thoughts, overlapping each other, building layers of meaning. At first glace they may seem playful, yet on closer inspection of the individual works, they are witty and incisive, somewhat reflecting the darker undercurrents of the times, even touching upon current affairs and politics.^[13]

Review:

http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=35117

Art works on public display!

A slideshow entitled “If you would please look to the left!”^[14] serves to explore how and in what way exiting from a museum or gallery would affect the work and the viewer. The 30-minute slideshow is accompanied by sound-effects but no further explanation and comprises 62 works which are projected at suitable locations adjacent to the museum or gallery but not necessarily owned by it.

inside outside

A project on behalf of the Zionskirche (Church of Zion), Berlin.

For that purpose the artist has created a graphic portrait of the Zionskirchplatz (Square of the Church of Zion). The result of that endeavour was issued in the form of a portfolio^[15] in October, 2016.

time fountain

granite, stainless steel, water/ Forchheim, Germany 2002

Inside the forecourt of Forchheim's train station you will find the “time fountain”,^[16] designed by Harald Winter. In a sense, the artist has created an “architectural clock” fueled by the element of water, which, as it progresses, provides the waiting traveler with an opportunity to ponder the concept of time, as well as check the time of day. The physical structure itself features a slightly curved semicircle of twelve square granite columns, the height of each increasing with the passing hours of the day. The water flowing out of each of the hour stones represents the time that has already elapsed. By adding a jet of water every five minutes a more exact reading of this clock is made possible. After a cycle of twelve jet fountains has been completed, water will start flowing out of the next column thus marking the passing of yet another hour. On behalf of the Folk Society of Forchheim, the fountain was officially donated to the town of Forchheim by Dr. Dieter George in March 2003.

Memorial to Wilhelm Kleemann

In 2013 the artist was commissioned to design a memorial to the Jewish banker Dr.Wilhelm Kleeman, who was born in Forchheim in 1869. Kleemann lived in Berlin until 1933, where one of the offices he held was as the chairman of the Jewish community there. In 1940 he emigrated to New York. Winter has created an interactive memorial that can be walked on in Kleemann’s native town, by setting a 5.5 meter long band of granite with inlaid letters of stainless steel into the pavement of Wilhelm-Kleemann Weg. In addition, a QR code engraved into a stele provides access to a website dedicated to Kleemann’s life: ^[17]

Performance

"Katharina läuft durchs Haus", Pfalzmuseum 2005, Forchheim

"Satzbaulust", Pfalzmuseum 2006, Forchheim

"MaxMoritzProjekt", Pfalzmuseum, 2008, Forchheim

"money", Red Gate Gallery, 2009, London

Selection of personal shows (P) and group exhibitions (G)

• Berlin, Zion's church, 2016 (P)
• Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University 2012 (P)^[18]
• Geneva, United Nations 2010 (P)
• New York, LAE Gallery 2009 (G)
• London, Red Gate Gallery 2009 (P)
• Castellabate, Castello 2007 (P)^[19]
• Forchheim, Pfalzmuseum 2005 (P)
• Portici, CRIAI 2002 (P)
• Naples, Goethe Institute, 2001 (P)
• Berlin, Kunstquartier, 1991 (G)
• Graz, Haus der Architektur 1986 (G)
• Munich, Haus der Kunst, 1982/1983 (G)

link

local artists (supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.) ^[20]

References