About the work

One finds various borrowings from the French avant garde in the early work of the artist. The art of Heinrich Siepmann developed from the influences of Cubism, but informal structures also play a role in his creative process. One can still even see borrowings from these early influences in his late work.
In this painting from 1981, the verticals are emphasised by slender rectangles. A stair-like composition, descending from left to right and accented by black elements, results in an extremely dynamic and tension-filled composition. The artist is successful in further intensifying this already charged basic composition through the red accents within the black areas. Pronounced here is the gentle rhythmising of the individual areas, which besides those in shades of black, are placed reservedly and sensitively in white, light yellow and light grey.
The work of the artist, who died in the place of his birth, Mülheim on the Ruhr, in 2002, is strongly oriented to the fundamental effects of our environment: of the verticals and the horizontals. Everything is based on these two directions. Siepmann’s art deals precisely with these elements, which fundamentally define our existence. Thus, he was continually less interested as of the 1960s in the representation of the lived environment than in the exploration of that which lies behind this diverse world. The artist fathoms enduring experiences in a constantly changing world. It is also this that makes the art of Heinrich Siepmann timelessly contemporary.