Raymond Unger

About

Raymond Unger, born in Hamburg, Germany, comes from a family of well-known painters. The artist’s ready access to the medium of painting led him to take up abstract painting in 1989, eventually moving on to figurative and expressive realism. In 2004, he moved his studio from Hamburg to Berlin. At that time, Unger stopped painting with a brush and he has since worked exclusively with a palette knife. Since 2004, he has displayed his work in numerous solo exhibitions and at art fairs. Since 2008, his work has been represented in private collections both at home and abroad. Unger is the founder of the German Forum for Remodernism. Since 2007, he has served as a juror for the Professional Association of Visual Artists Berlin. Awards: International Lucas Cranach Exceptional Prize for Painting 2011

Location: Berlin, Germany
Website: http://www.raymond-unger.de
http://www.remodernist.de

Work

Subject
The key to Unger's autobiographically themed work lies in his childhood. The artist grew up under his grandparents’ influence. The very religious core family, all members of a free church, relocated from Bessarabia (present-day Moldova) to Germany in 1940. Orthodox morality and apocalyptic ideology formed the first worldview in the artist’s life. His grandfather and uncle were both religious painters, and his uncle, Emil Maier-F, received international attention. The work ‘Paradise Lost’, which won the Lucas Cranach Award, and works like ‘The Secret’, ‘Mea Culpa’, and ‘Meisterschüler’ are part of a cycle of works in which the artist comes to terms with the influences that shaped his youth.

Technique
Over the years Unger has developed his own technique with a high recognition value. The artist painted with a brush in alla prima style until 2004, but his expressive style required extended possibilities. Today Unger uses only palette knives for colour application. With this choice of tools, the artist constrains himself to paint in an extremely authentic way; later corrections or erasures are impossible. (See also: Portrait Closeups) Unger’s extreme flow ideally underlines the emotion of his subjects. The artist applies the paste-like oil colours with weighty gestures. Almost as if wielding a scalpel, he cuts structures and dismembers portraits, with or against their anatomy, until he finally transfigures them. The observer, although not present during the work process, can nevertheless thoroughly empathize in hindsight with the force of expression involved in the creation of the paintings. … Read More

Education

2013:

KUNSTVEREIN HOF: Works 2009 – 2012
Exhibition: 6 Mar > 14 Apr 2013
Opening: 6 Mar 2013 – 7:30pm
Kunstverein Hof
Am Theresienstein 1
D - 95028 Hof

2012:

»Born To Be Alive - I Tell You We Must Die!«
Factory-Art LTD - 207 Regent Street - LONDON WB1 4ND | Factory-Art Gallery - Mommsenstraße, 27 - BERLIN 10629 | Exhibition: 11 October > 3 November 2012 | Mommsenstraße 27 | BERLIN 10629 | Germany

»MENSCHENBILDER«
09. Mar - 13. May 2012 | International Lucas-Cranach-Prize 2011 for Painting | Cranach-Foundation Wittenberg in cooperation with city Kronach. | Cranach-Foundation Wittenberg | Markt 4 | 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg | Germany

2011:

ART FAIR 8. BERLINER KUNSTSALON
7. - 11. Sept. 2011 | UFERHALLEN | Uferstraße 8-11 | D-13357 Berlin

»LUCAS CRANACH AWARD«
Raymond Unger gets the international Lucas Cranach exceptional price for Painting 2011 | Exhibition: Bavarian National Museum | 2 Jul. - 31 Oct. 2011 | Festung Rosenberg | Festungsstr. 1 | 96317 Kronach

2010:

"BERLINER LISTE 2010" art fair | Berlin | Alte MÜNZE Berlin | Molkenmarkt 2 | 10179 Berlin
7.10.2010 - 10.10.2010

"tease art fair" art fair | Köln | Rheintriadem, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3 | 50668 Köln
22.04.2010 - 25.04.2010

2009:

"raumfünf" (collector room) RAYMOND UNGER | Düsseldorf | Luegallee 37 | 40545 Düsseldorf-Oberkassel 30.10.2009 - 01.11.2009

"6. BERLINER KUNSTSALON" art fair | Berlin | Kopenhagener Str. 58 | 10437 Berlin | 22.09.2009 - 27.09.2009

"PREVIEW BERLIN" art fair | Berlin | Platz der Luftbrücke 5 | 12101 Berlin | 24.09.2009 - 27.09.2009

"ZIRKUS MINIMUS" | Galerie Walden | Berlin | Kastanienallee 86 | 10435 Berlin | 03.04.2009 - 12.04.2009

2008:

"BERLINER LISTE" art fair | Berlin | Haus Cumberland | Kurfürstendamm 193-194 | 10707 Berlin
30.10.2008 - 2.11.2008

"DOUBLE BIND" | Galerie Frenhofer | Berlin | Friedrichstraße 232 | 10969 Berlin | 03.05.2008 - 31.05.2008

"GASTSPIEL" | Galerie Miró | Jesteburg | Hauptstraße 37 | 21266 Jesteburg | 01.02.2008 - 23.03.2008

"Sommerloch" | Galerie Frenhofer | Berlin | Friedrichstraße 232 | 10969 Berlin | 04.07.2008 - 26.07.2008

2007:

"Kleine Formate" | Galerie Frenhofer | Berlin | Friedrichstraße 232 | 10969 Berlin | 30.11.2007 - 05.01.2008

"Eröffnungsausstellung" | Galerie Frenhofer | Berlin | Friedrichstraße 232 | 10969 Berlin | 03.10.2007 - 27.10.2007

"FAMILY 2" | Galerie Short Art Volume | Berlin | Neustädtische Kirchstraße 14 | 10117 Berlin-Mitte
13.04.2007 - 15.04.2007

2006:

"FAMILY" | Galerie der GSW | Berlin | Kochstraße 22 | 10969 Berlin | 15.12.2006 - 07.02.2007

"ALDILEUTE" | Atelierausstellung | Berlin | Ringbahnstr. 16 - 20 | 12099 Berlin

2005:

"HEIMATVEREIN" | Galerie Goethes Barometer | Berlin | Kreuzbergstraße 77 | 10965 Berlin | 07.10.2005 - 27.11.2005
… Read More