Norbert Kricke (30 November 1922 – 28 June 1984) was a German sculptor.
Born in Düsseldorf, Kricke was a student of Richard Scheibe and Hans Uhlmann at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Berlin. He started creating abstract sculptures from 1947, using wires and other materials associated with industry, such as steel, glass and concrete. He was one of the most important artists in the group known as L'Art Informel, and had close links with ZERO and nouveau réalisme. From 1959 he worked with Yves Klein and , and after 1972 he taught at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he died.
One of his more famous works is the Röhrendickicht (thicket of pipes, 1957) outside the Gelsenkirchen opera house Musiktheater im Revier. He also created wire sculptures for Theater Münster (1955/56) and fountains for the University of Baghdad. He is generally known for his theories on the use of flowing water in art, shared with the critic John Anthony Thwaites (1909–1981).
Selected exhibitions
1959 II. documenta, Kassel 1964 32nd Venice Biennale, 1964 1964 documenta III, Kassel 1975 Norbert Kricke, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf 1980 Norbert Kricke, Josef Albers Museum, Bottrop 1997 Deutschlandbilder, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin 1998 Norbert Kricke, Studio A. Otterndorf 1999 Das Deutsche Informel, Galerie Rothe, Frankfurt 1999 Norbert Kricke, Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje 2000 40 Jahre Orangerie-Reinz, Galerie Orangerie-Reinz, Köln 2001 Outside the network?, Edith Wahlandt Galerie, Stuttgart 2003 Gruppe 53, Museum der Stadt Ratingen 2003 The Spirit of White, Galerie Beyeler, Basel 2004 Auf Papier, Galerie Neher, Essen 2005 Multiple Räume (2): Park, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden 2006 Classical : Modern, Daimler Chrysler Contemporary, Berlin 2006 Full House, Kunsthalle Mannheim 2006 Rupprecht Geiger / Norbert Kricke, Neues Museum Weimar 2006 VIP III. Arena der Abstraktion, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen 2006 Was ist Plastik? 100 Jahre – 100 Köpfe, Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg 2006–2007 Norbert Kricke Museum, Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf
Works in collections Daimler Chrysler Contemporary, Berlin Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum, Hagen Kunst aus NRW, Aachen-Kornelimünster Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach Saarland Museum, Saarbrücken Situation Kunst Bochum Studio A Otterndorf
Further reading John Anthony Thwaites: Norbert Kricke. Thames & Hudson, London 1964.
External links