Nationality Swiss German Name Walter Bodmer | Known for Painting/Sculpture Role Artist | |
Born 12 August 1903 Basel, Switzerland Died June 3, 1973, Basel, Switzerland | ||
Walter Bodmer (12 August 1903 - 3 July 1973) was a Swiss painter and sculptor.
Life
Walter Bodmer was born in Basel in 1903. From 1919 to 1923 he studied painting at the general Gewerbeschule in Basel. From 1927 to 1928 Bodmer and his friends Otto Abt and Walter Kurt Wiemken travelled to Paris and Collioure. In Coullioure, they met other artists, such as Serge Brignoni and Jean Matisse.
In 1932 Bodmer was introduced to the art of monotyping by the German art director Hein Heckroth. From then on, his art was influenced by abstract painting rather than Impressionism. In 1932 Bodmer had his first solo exhibition at the Kunsthalle Basel.
In 1933 Bodmer, Wiemken and Abt co-founded the anti-fascist group Gruppe 33, in protest against conservative tendencies in Swiss art and architecture (particularly in opposition to the conservative Basel GSMBA- Gesellschaft schweizerischer Maler, Bildhauer und Architekten (Association of Swiss Painters, Sculptors and Architects)).
At this time, Bodmer began to experiment artistically with Cubism. He developed his own visual language, which was expressed in drawings, reliefs and wire sculptures. From 1936 Bodmer worked intensively with metal sculptures, becoming a pioneer in abstract art. In 1936, he took part in the avant-garde exhibition "Zeitprobleme in der Schweizer Malerei und Plastik" ("Time problems in Swiss painting and plastic arts") at the Kunsthaus Zurich.
In addition to being an artist, Bodmer was also a musician. He made a living as a saxophonist in the 1930s and was the drummer of Fred Many's Band, one of the first successful Swiss jazz bands. In 1939 Bodmer taught anatomical drawing at the Gewerbeschule in Basel. The death of his friend Walter Kurt Wiemken in December 1940 hit him very hard.
In 1944 Bodmer took part in the exhibition "Konkrete Kunst" ("Concrete Art") at the Kunsthalle Basel. (The work of Hans Arp, Max Bill, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Leo Leuppi, Richard Paul Lohse, Piet Mondrian, Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Georges Vantongerloo was also exhibited). In 1974 his work was shown at an exhibition at the Berner Kunsthalle with Leo Leuppi, Alexander Calder and Fernand Leger.
In the 1950's, Bodmer's art also became recognised internationally. In 1956 he received the national Swiss Art Prize from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. In 1959 Bodmer took part in documenta II in Kassel. He was awarded the Basel City Art Prize in 1968. Bodmer died in Basel in 1973.