Franz Erhard Walther

Bilder im Kopf, Körper im Raum
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Action As Sculpture

In the early 1960s, Franz Erhard Walther (b. Fulda, 1939; lives and works in Fulda), moving in the orbit of the Minimal Art movement, devised an open conception of art that involves the beholders as active participants. His understanding of their actions as the actual work would inspire entire generations of artists.

The catalogue documenting the major retrospective at the Bundeskunsthalle Bonn pays homage to Walther's conceptual approach: by combining two book blocks facing each other, readers can constantly create new juxtapositions and associations. The book presents a broad selection of action-based works, drawings as well as a comprehensive archive section showing historical photographs as well as documentations of Walther’s early work. The extensive text part features essays by Selen Ansen, Luisa Fink, Susanne Kleine, and Gregor Quack, a laudation by Peter Weibel, and a conversation between Erik Verhagen and the artist. With a foreword by Eva Kraus and a greeting by Susanne Walther.

A cooperation between the Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, the Franz Erhard Walther Foundation, and DISTANZ.