Bernd Lohaus

1940 - 2010

Born in Düsseldorf (DE), died in Antwerpen (BE).

Bernd Lohaus was born in Düsseldorf in 1940; in his twenties, he enrolled at the highly regarded local art academy when Joseph Beuys was a professor there. Lohaus’ career in art only really took off, however, when he moved to Antwerp, where he quickly established himself as a key player in the city’s burgeoning avant-garde art scene, more specifically in the now legendary Wide White Space. In 1995, Lohaus’ work was the subject of an ambitious survey show at M HKA – the collection of which now holds two pieces by the artist: "Während/DU/als Gegenüber Oder/zwischen dem/ICH" and "Grote Sculptuur" ("Big sculpture"), both dating from the mid-eighties, highlight the artist’s signature preoccupation with the frontiers of language and the (im)possibility of communication, using his signature materials of wood and chalked words. More recently, M HKA has also exhibited a ‘historical’ work associated with the Gordon Matta-Clark Foundation: dating from 1979, "Raum" – first shown at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels – consists of a space simultaneously created and contained using long strips of brown paper tape. Against the walls of the space behind these flimsy yet no less forbidding bars, clearly visible but well out of the visitor’s curious reach, three drawings represent three words, the basic tenets of Lohaus’ austere, philosophically-minded practice: "nicht" (not), "nur" (only) and "nein" (no).

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About M HKA / Mission Statement

The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

About M HKA Ensembles

The M HKA Ensembles represent our first steps towards initiating the public to today's art-related digital landscape. With the help of these new media, our aim is to offer our artworks a better and fuller array of support for their presentation and public understanding.