The »image creator«

The self-proclaimed »image creator« and minimalist Robert Peter Mangold turns 85 today. It is fair to say that his life's work has had a major impact on abstract art. He initially conquered the U.S. art scene before his name also reached the international museum landscape in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mangold's almost austere geometric style enriched Minimalism in a lasting way. Line, form, and color only work together as a whole in Mangold's work, leaving room for interpretation.Ulrike Lehmann, in her 1994 dissertation of the same name, analyzes the work comprehensively and traces how Mangold's work developed in the 30 years between 1964 and 1994. He alternates between curved lines and unambiguous forms, while his coloring is largely restrained.

Mangold's artistic career unfolded with just as much clarity and straightforwardness as his style. Even as a child, he is said to have been enthusiastic about working as an illustrator. His studies then laid the foundation for his later position in Minimalism: he studied abstract art at the Cleveland School of Art. At the latest, his triple participation in the documenta (1972, 1977 and 1982) sealed Mangold's significant role in this period.

Art.Salon congratulates on this successful life and on his 85th birthday.

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