Klaus J. Schoen

Klaus J. Schoen is one of the most important representatives of abstract art in Germany. He developed his own formal language, while his works are similar to those of American artists of the Hard Edge movement such as B. Kenneth Noland, Frank Stella and Elsworth Kelly. Schoen’s experimental approach to the basic elements of his painting forms a logical extension. Klaus J. Schoen has been dealing with the possibilities and problems of geometric abstraction for many years. Nevertheless, in his work, Schoen goes beyond the rationally determined or mathematically calculated systematics of concrete-constructive art. In addition to all formal-aesthetic elements, his works also have a sensual dimension. This happens in a striving for harmony. To do this, he structures the canvas with strips or areas of different widths, arranging them into intervals and rhythms that are aligned horizontally, vertically, diagonally and intersectingly. Each color is equal to the other. In some series of works, he also expands the creative scope of the usually rectangular image carrier with irregular formats. In the interaction of line, color and surface, the artist repeatedly tests the visual possibilities.

born 1931 in Koenigsberg
1951-1952 University of Applied Arts, Berlin-Weissensee
1952-1958 College of Fine Arts, Berlin-Charlottenburg
1957 master student with Ernst Schumacher
1957 First exhibition as a guest of the Berlin Neue Gruppe
Lives and works in Berlin