Florian Depenthal

German Abstract Painter

“Florian Depenthal’s new body of work demonstrates his mastery of the illusion of three-dimensional depth on a flat canvas,” according to Virginia Miller. Inspired by the play of light and shadows in his outdoor studio, the German painter uses unorthodox compositions to create startling, elegant paintings.

“The newer work is very different from the older paintings, which have much more structure and layers and are thicker,” Depenthal said. “Now because of my 30 years’ experience, I can achieve the same volume and depth and motion with less color and fewer elements. In some of these paintings I took the color out and managed to achieve the same power and volume. To me, they look as colorful. The black and white almost creates color in your mind.”

Depenthal’s paintings are represented in the collections of the Milwaukee Art Museum; the Art Institute and the ZKM Museum of Karlsruhe, Germany; the Cultural Ministry of Baden-Württemberg, Germany; the Pfizer International collection; and Lake Point Tower Collection in Chicago; among numerous others.

Painting

Oil on Canvas

Education:
1977-1983 Kunstakademie Karlsruhe, Germany
(Art Institute) State Exam.
1979-1983 University Karlsruhe, Germany
State Exam, awarded Masters Degree in Art History

Events:
1983-84 Grant from German-French Cultural Exchange Society, Work-Fellowship in Paris

1983 Commissioned work for public art by Fraunhofer Institute, Dortmund University, Germany

1986 First visit to the United States. Studio work in New York and Chicago

1987-88 National Endowment for the Arts from the Cultural Ministry, Baden-Württemberg
Stipendium at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris

Works in public and private Collections:

Grant Thornton Collection, Chicago
Lake Point Tower Collection, Chicago
Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin
Sidley & Austin, Chicago
Stone Container Corporate Collection, Chicago
Art Institute Karlsruhe, Germany
Cultural Ministry, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Alpirsbach Collection, Germany
Pfizer International, Germany
DEPFA Bank, Deutsche Pfandanleihe, Wiesbaden, Germany
Bank of Frankfurt, Sparkasse, Germany
ZKM, Museum collection city Karlsruhe, Germany
Regierungspraesidium Karlsruhe, Governement collection, Germany
Medical Clinik Ulm and Karlsruhe, Germany
Fraunhofer Institut, Dortmund, Germany
Jean Marie Pierson collection, Paris, France
Willis Tower Chicago, MGB Collection

Challenge: to make paintings that are alive and breathing, and present to the immediate viewer. Not repetitive, and experienced as something which manifests the today. 1989 established a studio in Chicago to present, as well as permanent studios in Karlsruhe, Germany, and since 1999 in Miami, Florida.

Available Works

Recent Paintings

Earlier Paintings