In addition, the works of the German artist can be found in public institutions and banks such as the Federal Commissioner for Stasi Records Authority in Magdeburg.
VITA
Karl Oppermann (1930 - 2022)
The German artist Karl Oppermann was born in 1930 in Wernigerode, in the Harz region. After completing his Abitur (secondary school diploma), he studied art at the University of Fine Arts in West Berlin.
1971 bis 1996
Professorship for Free Painting at the HdK, now University of the Arts, Berlin
2009
Establishment of the “Karl Oppermann Foundation” at the Harz University
2015
Awarded the Medal of Honor of the State of Saxony-Anhalt
2021
Recipient of the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon
STYLE
Oil paintings, collages, print graphics, and watercolors
Oppermann was a German artist whose main work was oil painting. The lightness of his watercolors can also be felt in his oil paintings. Both techniques are characterized by a special dynamism that shows Oppermann’s distinctive style. The same applies to his drawings, which recall the brushstrokes of illustrators from the 1920s.
ERAS
Themes
Abstract Period
Apart from his early and brief abstract period between 1952 and 1953, the German artist always used representational references in his works, which he processed in larger thematic complexes such as “Hunters and Hunted,” “boat people,” “the German dream,” or “Que pasa.”
Spain and Italy
In search of a free, wide landscape that should offer him a balance to city life, the German artist turned to the southern Spain in the mid-1950s and a decade later to the island of Elba.
Berlin Paintings
Oppermann’s work initially documents an in-depth engagement with the political and social problems of his time. The main theme until 1985 is the city of Berlin in its historical-German context and the current political conflicts with which the city was confronted.
Humanistic-Christian Approach
He also repeatedly addressed the theme of “flight and expulsion.” The large stream of asylum seekers in 1985/1986 (“boat people”) prompted him to create his first paintings. These deal with flight and expulsion and are now constantly present in the Karl Oppermann Foundation at the Harz University in Wernigerode.
Latin America
The painter also found inspirations through several trips to Latin America. Thus, on the occasion of his first trip to Latin America with exhibitions in Bogota and Caracas, Luis Freres’ newspaper critique first referred to Oppermann as Prusiano-Latino. The term can be attributed both to his in-depth engagement with Prussian history, resulting from his claim to political-historical enlightenment, and to his emotional connection to Spain.
Harz Landscapes
Since then, similar themes have appeared directly or indirectly in his work. After moving from Berlin to Veckenstedt in the Harz foothills near his hometown of Wernigerode in 1996, the German artist’s focus was primarily on the Harz landscape. Since then, he often addressed the Brocken and the “Blocksberg mystique.” Oppermann also painted still lifes, drawing new color inspirations for his work from the diversity of nature.
Politics and Art
Karl Oppermann always addressed political issues close to his heart. Most recently, in the fall of 2020, a documentary on the theme “Blocksberg” was released. In this, he clearly and uncompromisingly took a stand against the right-wing radical developments in the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany).
STUDIOS
Veckenstedt, Barcelona, and Elba
In addition to his work in Berlin, Oppermann maintained studios in Elba, Barcelona, and Veckenstedt in the Harz. There, near his hometown of Wernigerode, the German artist lived until his last days.
Karl Oppermann Foundation
Together with the Harz University, the German artist established the ``Karl Oppermann Foundation`` in 2008, a collection of large-format oil paintings.
This is unique for the universities of applied sciences in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Oppermann contributed paintings with international themes, which are now accessible to the general public as a donation or permanent loan in the Wernigerode University Library. In 2009, the painter expanded the foundation with a portrait of Alexander von Humboldt and a large-format triptych. The paintings deal with self-discovery, departure, and the search for happiness, but also with flight, expulsion, and the struggle for survival.
PRESENCE IN
German and international museums
- Jewish Museum Berlin
- Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation / Kupferstichkabinett Berlin
- State Museum Bonn
- Kupferstichkabinett Dresden
- National Library of Madrid
- Berlinische Galerie
- Berlin Museum Foundation
REVIEWS
about Karl Oppermann
Wiebke von Bonin, the art critic of Westdeutscher Rundfunk, wrote: “And if you really want to get to know Karl Oppermann, take a look at his drawings. With all his spontaneity, he is here, with a sure stroke, he puts a figure on paper, often just a hint of form that the eye effortlessly completes.” (…) “Oppermann’s drawings are a unique medium that he masters ingeniously.” (Catalog Stiftung Burg Kniphausen, Dr. Wiebke von Bonin – cultural editor of WDR)
In 2015, Michael Freitag wrote the preface to the catalog “Pinturas” for the 85th birthday.
Important texts about Oppermann can also be found in the NBK catalog “Berlin Artists of the Present, Issue 7,” the foreword by Helmut Börsch-Soupan in “Berlin Paintings” 1963-86 by Ernst A. Busche, and in “Prusiano Latino” (biography) by Kerstin Englert.
“Künstler der Gegenwart”
Helmut Börsch-Supan
Berlin 1975
“Les Vagants”
Andrezej Wirth
Genova 1983
“Berlin Bilder 1963-1986”
Ernst A. Busche
Nicolai, Berlin 1986
“Jäger und Gejagte”
Ernst A. Busche
Berlin 1989
“Karl Oppermann Prusiano Latino”
Kerstin Englert
Gebr. Mann Verlag Berlin 1995
Catalog Burg Kniphausen
Wiebke von Bonin
Wilhelmshaven 1995
“Simplicissimus und Courage”
Christian Juranek
Renchen 2004
Foundation Brochure Catalog
Christian Juranek
Wernigerode 2010
Foundation Brochure Catalog
Armin Willingmann
Wernigerode 2010
SELECTION
Solo exhibitions
Karl Oppermann has a long history of major national and international exhibitions. Group exhibitions are not listed here.
1959
Berlin
Galerie Rosen
1963
Berlin
Galerie Gerda Bassenge
1965
Berlin
Haus am Lützowplatz
1968
Oberhausen
Museum Schloss Oberhausen
1969
Prag
Galerie U Recickych
1970
Bonn
Residence of the German Federal President
1971/73/75
Berlin
Galerie Gerda Bassenge
1975
Berlin
Große Orangerie Schloss Charlottenburg
1977
Genua
Galleria d’Arte
1980
Lima
Museo d’Arte
1987
São Paulo
Museo de Arte
1988
New York
Shea & Beker Gallery
1991/92/93
Berlin
Galerie Ludwig Lange
1993
Barcelona
Sala d’Arcs
1994-2003
Berlin
Galerie Enno Becker (annually)
1995/2000/03
Wernigerode
Kunst- und Kulturverein Wernigerode
1995/2007/15
Wilhelmshaven
Burg Kniphausen
2002
Halle (Saale)
Kunstverein Talstraße
2005/10
Berlin
Universität der Künste
2007/09
Potsdam
Galerie Bauscher
2008
Brüssel
Vertretung des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt
2012
Plovdiv/Bulgarien
Städtische Kunstgalerie
2012
Hamburg
Galerie im Grand Elysée
2014/2015
Barcelona
Deutsche Handelskammer für Spanien (AHK)
2015/2016
Quedlinburg
Feininger Galerie
2015/16/19
Berlin
Galerie Mutare
2016
Neustadt / Weinstraße
Stadtmuseum Villa Böhm
2017
Berlin
Galerie Petra Lange
2017
Göttingen
Galerie Art-Supplement
2019
Leipzig
Tapetenwerk Leipzig
2019
Naumburg
Galerie am Marientor
2019
Leipzig
Stritz-Galerie