Klaus Rinke (born in Wattenscheid, Germany, in 1939 is a multi-faceted, universal artist: draughtsman, painter, sculptor, photographer, philosopher and artist of aqueous mediums, landscapes and the human body, action painter, artist of words, concepts and philosophy. Rinke is a pioneer of process art, which enables the observer to experience time and space as a ‘primary demonstration’. The primeval forces of nature, especially time, are central to his work. He has lectured at the Academy of Arts in Dusseldorf for thirty years. Since his childhood, when he spent a lot of time near a station, clocks have become a symbol of the brevity of human life. Giant railway station clocks examined the theme of time, or lack of it, in the DERZEIT exhibition at the Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden in Wuppertal, Germany. The element of water in continuous motion becomes a metaphor for the passing of time. Nearly all artists of Rinke’s generation have been deeply influenced by the war and its aftermath. In the Rhine region they united in the ‘Düsseldorf Scene’, in which Rinke and Joseph Beuys became leading figures, addressing the artistic awakening of ‘free thinkers’ for a liberal Germany. Rinke works against illusion and abstraction, the point for him is clarity and absolute precision. The Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden was founded and established as a private initiative of Tony Cragg, the British sculptor who lives in Wuppertal. He bought the site in 2006 and the sculpture park opened in 2008 under the auspices of the Cragg family’s non-profit foundation.

Copyright 2017 Mart Engelen