ARMIN FORBRIG
- born May 24, 1937 in Chemnitz, standard education
- completed apprenticeship as stonemason under the guidance of his father
- in 1959, at the age of 22, he obtained his Master Craftman's Certificate
- in 1964 (at the age of 27), he took over the family owned stone sculpting business when his father was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer
- the foundations for the development of his artistic talents were laid during the 50's, when the persistent 15 year old autodidact received drawing lessons (nude drawing in particular) from the painter and graphic artist Rudi Gruner who also lived in Chemnitz
- drawing has always been his foundation - even for his abstract works, in both graphical arts and sculpting
- in May 1961 his son Stefan is born
- between 1962 and 1965, though lacking official support, he studies font design under Professor Albert Kapr at the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts
- in 1966 he gains admission to the Department of Applied Arts of the VBK (Association of Fine Arts) of the GDR in a position as font designer
- in 1968 he becomes a member of the Association of Fine Arts (VBK) of the GDR
- during the first years of the 1970s, he starts with artistic sculpturing of the human form
- in April 1974 his daughter Franziska is born
- font-based graphics, i.e. using font design as a means of expressing emotional and spiritual conditions (Tibetteppich/E. Lasker-Schüler 1977, Kassandra /Ch. Wolf 1978)
- inexorably, he creates a stream of sculptural drawings along with provoking large format reliefs of full-bosomed women
- in the middle of the 80s he starts with political graphics, such as the "Infrastructural Psychograph of a Member of the Political Office"
- 1989/90 he acts as speaker of the Citizens' Action Group for Dissolving the Ministry of State Security (StaSi) in the district of Karl-Marx-Stadt
- in 1990 he is a founding member and the head of the Association of Artists of Chemnitz
- in 1991 he helps founding the Association of Artists of Saxony and acts as a member of the board of leaders from 1997 to 2000
- his most important political sculptures are:
- "Wir 91" (en.: "Us 91"), "Wir 94" (en.: "Us 94"), "Deutsches Hemd", "Germanus"
- 1993/94 numerous political etchings, such as "Zyklus Sarajevo" (en.: Sarajevo Cycle"), alongside other creations
- In 2000 he started using the possibilities of copy-art (repeated copying of figurative material until they are almost completely alienated) followed by using digital art for melting brilliant colours with figurative drawings, which had been dominating his creative achievements until his death.
in January 2004 he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, he died in Chemnitz on February 26, 2007
Successful participation in international biennial arts festivals:
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1990 |
Euro-Art Paris |
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1991 |
Krakow, Brussels |
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1992 |
Yokohama |
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1993 |
Maastricht, Ljubljana, Sapporo |
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1994 |
Barcelona, Belgrade |
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1995 |
Tokyo1996Ibiza |
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1997 |
Barcelona |
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1998 |
Madrid, Kanagawa (Japan) |
Exhibitions and participations in exhibition:
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until 1989 |
numerous exhibitions in Chemnitz and Saxony |
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1990 |
Art Gallery at the Chemnitz Theatre |
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1991 |
1st Sculptor's Symposium of Chemnitz |
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1992 |
Art Gallery of Hohenstein-Ernstthal |
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1992 |
Art Gallery "art gluchowe" in Glauchau |
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1992 |
at the opening of the Chemnitz opera house – Gallery Weise in Chemnitz |
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1992 |
"Im Wege stehend" (en.: "Standing in the Way"), an exhibition of large-scale sculptures in the city of Schwetzingen |
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1994 |
"Zeitsprung" (en.: "Time Leap") at the Castle of Dresden |
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1994 |
"Begegnung" (en.: "Encounter") East-West Sculptor's Symposium in Balduinstein |
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1995 |
Gallery Rosenkranz in Chemnitz; Augustusburg and Heidelberg |
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1995 |
"Rügen-Sommer" (en.: "Ruegen Summer") Gallery D 19 in Chemnitz |
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1996 |
Bergen, Island of Ruegen |
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1996 |
"Torso", Castle of Augustusburg (together with several sculptors of the region) |
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1998 |
"Meine Akte" (en.: "My Nudes") Uni-Café in Chemnitz |
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1998 |
"Zeichnung + Skulptur" (en.: "Drawing + Sculpture") Wasserschloss Klaffenbach, in collaboration with Fritz Schönfelder "Bild + Objekte" (en.: "Picture + Objects") |
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2000 |
"Blätter auf neuen Wegen" (en.: "Leaves on New Paths") Kunsthütte Chemnitz |
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2001 |
"Skulptur und Grafik" (en.: "Sculpture and Graphic") Elmshorn |
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2001 |
"c-quer" and "Das Eigene" (en.: "c-across" and "Oneself") Neue Sächsische Galerie Chemnitz |
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2002 |
Galerie am Domhof Zwickau |
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2002 |
Gallery of the House of Metternich in Koblenz |
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2002 |
Project "InSicht" (en.: "InSight") in Chemnitz |
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2003 |
"6 x nonfiguration" Galerie VORORTOST Leipzig |
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2004 |
Gallery "Art In" Meerane |
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2004 |
Sculpture "Deutsches Hemd", Atrium of the German Parliamentary Society in Berlin |
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2005 |
"Akt" (en.: "Nude") Art Gallery at the Chemnitz Theatre |
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2005 |
Schmidt-Rottluff-Gallery in Chemnitz |
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2005 |
Pfarrwitwenhaus Groß-Zicker / Ruegen |
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Several "Forbrig-Creations" can be found in the cityscape of Chemnitz:
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"Ying and Yang", Sandstone 1977, VdN-Monument (Abbr.: pursued of the Nazi regime) of the municipal cemetery |
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"Die Liegende" (en.: "The Reclined"), Sculpture 1994, Neue Sächsische Galerie Chemnitz |
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"Kennzeichen D" (en.: "Tag D"), Cement 1997 Zöllnerplatz |
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"Stele", Limestone 1998 in the Skulpturenpark of the Volksbank, Innere Klosterstraße |
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"Rieselbrunnen" beside the Galeria Kaufhof, 2002 |
Sculptures in other cities:
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Akademie Meißen "Sarajevo", Marble 1995 |
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Schwetzingen "Wir `91" (en.: "Us 91"), Marble 1991 |
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Balduinstein "Wir `94" (en.: "Us 94"), Marble 1994 Skulpturenpark Meerane "Zuwendung" (en.: "Donation"), Sandstone 1997 |
Several of his works are in private hands all over Germany.
Personal exhibitions / exhibitions after his death:
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2007 |
personal exhibition "Lebenswerk" (en.: "Lifework") Neue Sächsischen Galerie Chemnitz |
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2007 |
participation in "Computergrafik", (en.: "Computer Graphics") Gallery Leipzig |
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2009 |
personal exhibition "Handgemachtes" (en.: "Hand-Made") Regional Administrative Authority, Dresden |
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2009 |
participation in "Wir hatten die Wahl" Projektraum, Gallery of the Association of Artists of Chemnitz (Abbr.: CKB) |
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2009 |
participation in "Kehraus – Kunst zur Wendezeit" (en.: (Clearout – Art during the Collapse of Communism" , Neue Sächsische Galerie Chemnitz |
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2010 |
participation in "Werkschau“ Projektraum, Gallery of the Association of Artists of Chemnitz (Abbr.: CKB) |
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2013 |
"Retrospektive" Museum Wolmirstedt, Schloßdomäne |
2014: participation „Die Kunst des Weglassens“ in der Neuen
Sächsischen Galerie Chemnitz
2014: personal exhibition „MEER SEHEN – MEHR SEHEN“, St.
Andreas-Friedhof Chemnitz
2017: memory exhibition on the 10th anniversary of the death,
District Court Chemnitz
Aktuelles:
Seit einigen Jahren entsteht auf einem ehemaligen Industriegelände an der Meeraner Poststraße der Skulpturenpark, betreut vom Meeraner Kunstverein mit Unterstützung der Stadt Meerane. Dieser hat nun mit der Skulptur „Zuwendung“ des Künstlers Armin Forbrig (1937–2007) eine weitere wertvolle Plastik erhalten.