Imi (Klaus Wolf) Knoebel
born 1940 in Dessau, lives in Düsseldorf.
With its reduction to basic geometric forms, the four-part installation “Rot Gelb Weiß Blau 1–4” (Red Yellow White Blue 1–4), which has been devised by former Beuys student, sculptor and painter Imi Knoebel for the reception hall of the Marie-Elisabeth Lüders Building, relates directly to Stephan Braunfels’s architectural concept.
Knoebel’s coloured wall objects explore the relationship between space and colour, joining white and primary-coloured strips and rectangular shapes together in space in such a way that the grey of the exposed concrete wall in the background shows through between them. The resulting forms are image, relief and installation at the same time.
Knoebel employs an economical yet rich language of colour and form to explore essentially Constructivist concerns ranging from the art of Piet Mondrian to the Russian Suprematists.
His installation, which is also visible from outside the building, enters into a stimulating dialogue with the surrounding space and architecture.