Arend Fuhrmann

The painter Arend Fuhrmann (born 1918 in Hamburg, Germany, died 1984 in Carona, Switzerland) grew up near Hamburg in an extraordinarily artistic family. His mother Elisabeth Fuhrmann-Paulsen was a poet, and his father Ernst Fuhrmann was a philosopher, writer, photographer, linguist, and publisher. Fuhrmann himself became interested in literature and art early in life. In 1952, he moved to the Ticino region of Switzerland, where he worked as an artist and graphic designer. He also designed wall decorations and public artworks.
After a figurative phase in the 1930s and 1940s, Fuhrmann turned to abstract painting. He continued to reduce representational elements and means of expression until his painting finally became concrete. In the early 1970s, his works began to feature parallel lines of different colors on a white background. The lines are staggered and appear in rhythmic arrangements. By clashing with the background, they create not only spatial depth, but also Op Art effects. Toward the end of his career, Fuhrmann created luminous paintings that are characterized by an especially harmonic color scheme. These works sometimes include empty square “cutouts” in an explicit homage to the Swiss Concrete painter Hedi Mertens (1893–1982) with whom he shared a studio and who had introduced him to geometric painting in the first place. The Museo Cantonale d’Arte in Lugano also organized a joint retrospective of the two artists in 2002.
Fuhrmann became fascinated with lines early in his career. This can also be seen in his work “Zweifach gegeneinanderlaufender, perspektivisch verzogener und durchbrochener linearer Stufenrhythmus (Nr. 741)” from 1974, which is part of the collection of Museum Haus Konstruktiv. The title is a precise description of the picture. The geometric composition consists of concentrations of horizontal lines in different colors that appear to become thinner toward the top. Their parallel and diagonal arrangement creates rhomboids that lend the composition a dynamic element. Toward the left edge of the painting, the colors fade so much that they seem to disappear into the background, thus creating spatial depth. At the same time, they echo the lines with intense colors. The entire composition thus creates a feeling of weightless, like a melody that slowly fades and becomes silent.

Dominique von Burg