Wilhelm, Jean-Pierre

Wilhelm, Jean-Pierre ( him. Jean-Pierre Wilhelm ) (* September 9, 1912 in Dusseldorf ; † July 1968 ibid.). Real name - Kurt Wilhelm ( him. Kurt Wilhelm ). German gallery owner , art mediator, art critic , translator and publisher of French literature and one of the first patrons of the Rhine avant-garde . In 1957, he, together with Manfred de la Motte, founded in Düsseldorf the Gallery 22, which existed until 1960 , which, with its main tasks, set up a presentation of new works of informationism , like the trends of modern visual art and cultural exchange between Germany and France , including in the field of musical art and literature.

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Biography

In France

Wilhelm was born in the family of a wealthy sales agent Düsseldorf. Before the National Socialists came to power in Germany, the family immigrated to Paris . In 1940, he was forced to move with his friend, the composer Louis Saguer to the south of France and support the Resistance Movement . In the years of the Vichy regime, Wilhelm found himself in camps five times. In 1953, in Paris, he met with Winfred Gaul, who was actively developing informationism in painting at that time.

Gallery 22

May 2, 1957 in Düsseldorf, 22 Kaiserstrasse Street (Düsseldorf-Pempelfort), Wilhelm opens a private art gallery (together with Manfred de la Motte and with the financial support of the artist Gerhard Hoehme, called Gallery 22. In its halls works of such informativism figures as Karl Otto Goetz and Emile Schumacher . Here, the French Jean Jean Fotrieu and Jean Dubuffet posted their works. In the exhibition catalogs you could find such famous names in Europe as the French writer, cultural scientist and member of the Resistance Movement André Malraux , writer, essayist, publisher and member of the French Academy, Jean Polan , poet Francis Ponges , English poet, literary and art critic, teacher, the largest organizer and authority of British artistic life, Herbert Reed , German art historian, photographer and art critic Franz Roch .

"Gallery 22" was a platform for performances: American composer, philosopher, poet, musicologist and artist John Cage , American-Korean artist and founder of video art Nam June Pike . In 1959, many artists exhibited at Gallery 22 were presented at Document 2 in Kassel , including Chilean painter, sculptor, architect and graphic artist, prominent representative of surrealism Roberto Sebastien Matta and French poet and artist Henri Michaux .

Fluxus

Jean-Pierre Wilhelm could not stay away from the European modern art movement Fluxus , which included such leading figures of art as the Düsseldorf Joseph Beuys and Nam June Pike. Together, on 2-3 February 1963, they organized a fluxus festival at the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts called Music and Anti-Music. Instrumental Theater.

Recent years

The fact that for health reasons he leaves a large modern art, Jean-Pierre Wilhelm announced in a private residential studio of Eva and Joseph Beuys on July 28, 1966 . On July 30, in the private apartment of painter and sculptor Jörg Immendorf in Düsseldorf, William retired to retire almost all artists were present at the time in the city, each of whom presented one of his latest works. Jean-Pierre Wilhelm died in Düsseldorf in July 1968 .