Hermann Scherer: Swiss, expressionist, human and wooden figures
From an artist to the
studio of E.L.Kirchner
Hermann Scherer, which is born on the 8th of February 1893 in the town of Rümmingen (Baden-Württemberg) was already interested in the art, as a child. After leaving school in 1907, he will begin is apprenticeship as a stonemason at the Schwab workshop in Lörrach, just a step away from Basel.
This apprenticeship will lead him to work with numerous artists and sculptors of Basel, such as Carl Gutknecht, Carl Burckhardt and Otto Roos. Roos, which help him to start his own career by paying him a good salary, and by finding him a workshop. At that time, the war already started, and Switzerland was full of artists, battling for their art in Germany and France.
Just after the First World War, Hermann Scherer decided to start all over again. He will destroy most, if not, all of his works since the 1900s. He will look for new influences and explore new techniques and approach to his oeuvre.
To do so, he will visit many museums and cultural institutions of Switzerland such as the Kunstmuseum Basel, which was located in a building near the Munster Platz. This museum and the Edvard Munch exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich, will lead him to meet with the German expressionist artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.
The use of wood, in the
oeuvre of Hermann Scherer
Mostly known for his woodcut, the oeuvre of Hermann Scherer is full of engraving and sculpture made with this natural material. Therefore, the show focus on 3 different kinds of works: his drawings, his sculptures and his engravings. All of them made in relation with numerous sketches or experiences before the final work of art.
After his visit to the Munch exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich in 1922, Scherer met Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. This friendship will whom him multiple visit to the Swiss town of Davos, from 1922 until 1924, and especially to the studio of Kirchner. It's, at that time, that he will start his sculpture on wood, due to the help and training he had from his friend. The form and development of his sculpture will lead him to simplify the shapes of the human body while exploring the use of colors on wood, like Kirchner and nowadays Baselitz.
In their oeuvre, you can see multiple connections, like the human figures, the compositions or even the dialogue between a drawing of Kirchner, and a sculpture of Scherer, and vice-versa.
This will lead him to be the assistant of Kirchner for the 1923 exhibition of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, at the Kunsthalle Basel. One year later Hermann Scherer will take part of the new German art exhibition in Stuttgart with three of his wood sculptors. As he met with numerous artist, he will found the artist group Rot-Blau with Albert Müller and Paul Camenisch in late 1924, later joined by Werner Neuhaus.
And also to an incredible period of craftsmanship and production, with around twenty-five wooden sculptures, and many sculptures. Containing an important ensemble of ensemble, showcasing numerous theme such as love, sexuality, intimacy and loneliness.
After his representation at the Kunstmuseum Basel, the exhibition will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts Chur (June 18–September 25, 2022) and the Ernst Barlach Haus, Hamburg (March 5–June 5, 2023).
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Kunstmuseum Basel | Neubau
Date: 15.1.2022 – 18.4.2022
Curator: Marion Heisterberg
Ticket: Available on the website of the Kunstmuseum Basel OR at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Kunstmuseum Basel
Kunstmuseum Basel
St. Alban-Graben 8
CH-4010 Basel
Phone: +41 61 206 62 62
Fax: +41 61 206 62 52
Mail: info@kunstmuseumbasel.ch