NIKLAUS HASENBÖHLER

Provenance:
- Estate Niklaus Hasenböhler.
- Private collection Switzerland.

Exhibition: Basel 1981, Niklaus Hasenböhler. Schweizerische Schiffahrtsschule, 13 - 20 August.

Literature: Hasenböhler-Dill, Doris, a.o. (ed.): Niklaus Hasenböhler. Niklaus Hasenböhler 1937-1994. Das Gesamtwerk, Basel 1997, no. 156.

The artist Niklaus Hasenböhler, originally from Basel, had a classical education at the Basel School of Applied Arts. He won a place in three important exhibitions, at the Basel Kunsthalle in 1961 and 1972 and a solo show in 1985, which furthered his career decisively. Since these exhibitions he also received official commissions from the Canton of Basel and individual works were purchased. Since 1977 he has worked regularly in Paris where he owns a studio.
In his work Hasenböhler would like to bring figurative painting back to the centre of things. The object has a quite definite place in his art. At the same time there is a certain tendency towards abstraction in the manner of Franz Kline or Wilhelm de Kooning, whose painting he got to know during his stays in Paris. At the beginning of the 1980s he found his own style, which is a mixture of virtuoso strokes and radical methods. His favourite motifs such as slaughterhouses or prostitution appear again and again in his work. His painting is focussed on people, animals or other beings. The effect of his colours plays a great role and backs up the intensity of his works. He prefers to use charcoal.

Society and its extremes interest him. It is therefore hard to tell whether he is fascinated by that life, or whether he observes as a critic. The works by Hasenböhler offered here at auction are typical examples of his most creative phase. The hectic gestures and the intense colours are blatant and lend the scenes great intensity.