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With his strictly geometric approach, the Swiss artist Hans Jörg Glattfelder follows in the tradition of the Zurich School of Concrete Art led by Max Bill.
In Concrete Art, the right angle, as a parameter of physical space (“Euclidean space”), always plays an important role. Glattfelder, who engaged intensively with scientific definitions of space, went beyond this classical conception of space and began working on the series of non-Euclidean metaphors in the late 1970s. In this series, he abandoned the right angle in favor of multidimensional concepts of space and was one of the first to explore the transfer of modern physics’ complex notions of space to constructive art. His central concern was always to question the relationship between space and surface. The explicit artistic distinction from scientific and mathematical models was expressed here through the word “metaphor” in the titles. Hans Jörg Glattfelder lives and works in Basel.
Hans Jörg Glattfelder (*1939), Confine in salita, 1969, tempera and pencil on paper, 21 × 31 cm; Photo: Museum für Konkrete Kunst und Design, Eva Glattfelder
Hans Jörg Glattfelder (*1939), PYR 451, 1974, paint on polystyrene, 90 × 90 cm; Photo: Museum für Konkrete Kunst und Design, Eva Glattfelder
Born in Zurich
Studied art history, law, and archaeology at the University of Zurich
Moved to Italy (Florence and Milan)
Camille Graeser Foundation Prize, Zurich
Participated in the Venice Biennale
Studio in New York as a fellow of the City of Zurich
Moved to Paris
Moved to Basel
Inducted into the SKKD
Peter C. Ruppert Prize for Concrete Art in Europe, Würzburg
Hans Jörg Glattfelder
Black on White: Highlights from the Maximilian and Agathe Weishaupt Collection and the Foundation for Concrete Art and Design (group exhibition)
Angular, Colorful, and Round: An Exhibition for the Whole Family (group exhibition)
The New Tendencies: A European Art Movement 1961–1973 (group exhibition)
Experiment Concrete: Eugen Gomringer at 80 (group exhibition)
Hans Jörg Glattfelder: Constructive Metaphors