Hans-Hendrik Grimmling (*1947 in Zwenkau near Leipzig) is one of the most important painters of his generation in Germany, an initiator of the legendary First Leipzig Autumn Salon in 1984, regarded as a milestone exhibition in non-conformist GDR art. For more than 40 years, he has been painting at the fringes of abstraction. He is preoccupied with the experience of letting go, detaching himself from the figurative and the narrative, from East German identity, thus breaking away from predetermined physical forms. Grimmling visualizes his prime concern: the drama, the struggle, and the tragedy of human existence. Large areas, wide swaths and interlinked bands of black stretch across the canvas. The colour black prevails, becoming intoxicating and, for two decades now, the painter’s only visual content. This publication is the first monographic work to present Grimmling’s complete oeuvre.

Look inside

• Retrospective of a non-conformist GDR artist
• An overview with works from five decades
• Exhibition: Kunstmuseum Magdeburg. Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen, 14.09.2014 to 08.02.2025, book launch in January 2025