Jürgen Partenheimer (born 14 May 1947, in Munich, Germany) is a German artist. His works span a range of media, from painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, artists books, texts and installations. He lives and works in Germany and Italy.

Biography

Partenheimer was born and raised in Munich, Bavaria. He studied art history and philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich from 1968–76 where he received a PhD in art history in 1976. 1971 he received a Columbus scholarship and studied at the Art Department of the University of Arizona, Tucson. He was reinvited as Teaching Assistant to the University of Arizona in 1972 where he graduated with an MFA in 1973. 1976 Partenheimer received a grant from the State of Bavaria for research studies at Musée d´Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France. He moved to Düsseldorf in 1978 and was invited by Richard Demarco for his first show at the Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh in 1979. Partenheimer´s work celebrates an exquisite relation of forms and at the same time, they invite association, which is a supremely supple and versatile act of the imagination. In his oeuvre the artist succeeds uniquely in leaving the idea of an objectively experienced world behind, transforming it into a cognitive act of seeing.

Exhibitions

Partenheimer´s first major exhibition in 1983 was organized by the Kunstraum Munich. Partenheimer has since exhibited his work internationally and was included in the XI Paris Biennial (1980), listed as an American artist at the XVI São Paulo Biennial, Nucleus I (1982) and participated in the XLII Venice Biennial (1986). 1988 The National Galerie Berlin organized Partenheimer´s first extensive museum show in Germany. In 1998 and 1999 the museums for contemporary art IVAM Valencia and the CGAC Santiago de Compostela in Spain organized comprehensive exhibitions of his work. In 2000 he was the first German contemporary artist who was invited to show his work at the National Museum of Art in Beijing and at the Nanjing Museum in Nanjing. Between 2002 and 2008 the S.M.A.K. Ghent, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, IKON Gallery, Birmingham and Kunstmuseum Bonn organized individual shows. 2014 the Pinakothek der Moderne Munich organized a retrospective exhibition with venues at Deichtorhallen, Collection Falckenberg, Hamburg, Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver. 2015 Musée Ariana in Geneva showed drawings and 21 porcelain vessels which Partenheimer created upon invitation at the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufacture in Munich. 2017 he had an exhibition at White Cube Gallery, London, Lichtschwarm including paintings, sculptures, unique ceramics and works on paper dating from 1975−2017. 2021 and 2022 Häusler Contemporary Zurich and Max Goelitz Gallery Munich presented recent paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

Recognition

Partenheimer has been the recipient of many awards including the Grand Award for Visual Art, NRW, Düsseldorf (1980), NEA National Endowment for the Arts Award, New York (1982), Canada Council Grant, Montréal (1982), the Spanish Art Critics Award, Madrid (1995), Guest of Honor, German Academy, Villa Massimo, Rome (2003), First Class Order of Merit, Federal Republic of Germany (2004), Nietzsche-Residency Award, Sils-Maria (2006), Nirox Foundation Residency Award, Johannesburg (2011) and Audain Distinguished Residency Award, Emily Carr University for Art+Design, Vancouver(2014).

Monographs

Gallery