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Günther Förg

GÜNTHER FÖRG

Paires Galerie Lelong 16 January–8 March 2025 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
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Press Release

Günther Förg usually had a precise idea in mind before beginning a series of paintings, yet he never made sketches. When his paintings were sent out for exhibitions, he sometimes produced small replicas, loose canvases in frames or wooden panels mounted on a second panel, in order to preserve their presence in his studio. He did this systematically between 2002 and 2007, building up a miniature collection of his most recent paintings in his studio, and hanging them close together, like butterflies in a naturalist’s box.

Galerie Lelong & Co. devoted in 2021 an exhibition to these small formats, which have hardly ever been shown alongside the larger works they replicate. This is the theme of this exhibition, conceived together with the artist’s estate and in collaboration with Hauser & Wirth.

It is in his large paintings that the freshness, elegance and suppleness of Förg’s touch on the canvas are most apparent. These works often reference the painters he admired: Philip Guston, Edward Munch, Henri Matisse, Robert Motherwell, etc. The small formats reveal, through the change in scale, the pre-existing idea and the pictorial elements (composition, colours) that Förg considered to be the most important. We can then penetrate to the heart of the creation, as if we were observing the artist at work.

Günther Förg was born in 1952 in Füssen (Germany) and died in 2013 in Freiburg. Since 1997, Galerie Lelong has organised a dozen exhibitions of the artist’s work in Paris and published several catalogues. His work was the subject of a major retrospective, entitled Günther Förg – A Fragile Beauty, in 2018 at the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam) and then at the Dallas Museum of Art.

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About the Artist

Günther Förg was born in 1952 in Füssen, Germany. He died in Freiburg, Germany on December 5, 2013.

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Also Exhibiting at Galerie Lelong

All Exhibitions
David Nash
DAVID NASH Catching Forms. Wood to Bronze Galerie Lelong 10 September–10 October 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
Barthélémy Toguo
BARTHÉLÉMY TOGUO The Nomadic Studio Galerie Lelong 10 September–10 October 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
About the Gallery
Galerie Lelong is located in Paris and New York. It was founded by Jacques Dupin, Daniel Lelong and Jean Frémon.

The Paris gallery has been exhibiting recent works from artists of international standing since 1981. The 1980s were notable for artists who went on to become household names, including Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Eduardo Chillida, Paul Rebeyrolle, Pierre Alechinsky, but also for the next generation of artists: Konrad Klapheck, Jan Dibbets, Donald Judd, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Jannis Kounellis, Arnulf Rainer, Nicola De Maria and Jan Voss.

In the 1990s, the gallery hosted artists who represented major movements in contemporary art: Sean Scully, Günther Förg, Andy Goldsworthy, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Antonio Saura. The gallery also increased international recognition of the work of Ana Mendieta.

Since the turn of the century, Galerie Lelong has accentuated the geographical and expressive diversity of its artists: from sculpture and objects by Jaume Plensa, David Nash, Wolfgang Laib, Kiki Smith, Rebecca Horn, Barry Flanagan to installations by Barthélémy Toguo and Lin Tianmiao, without forgetting painting, namely David Hockney, Robert Motherwell, Kate Shepherd, Nalini Malani, Nancy Spero, Juan Uslé, Leon Kossoff.

Galerie Lelong has a large publishing department which produces and distributes engravings, lithographs, digital prints and multiple objects, and collates these works in catalogues raisonnés.

It produces monumental sculptures to order for public spaces and private clients.

The gallery is present at the leading international contemporary art fairs (Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Basel Hong Kong, Fiac Paris, Frieze London, Frieze New York, Arco Madrid, Art Brussels, Expo Chicago...).

The directors of the gallery are Jean Frémon, Daniel Lelong and Patrice Cotensin in Paris and Mary Sabbatino in New York.
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Address
13 rue de Téhéran
Paris
France
Opening Hours
Tues - Fri, 10.30am - 6pm
Sat, 2pm - 6.30pm
(1)
Paris 13 rue de Téhéran
Galerie Lelong contemporary art gallery in 13 Rue de Teheran Paris
Galerie Lelong
13 rue de Téhéran, Paris, France
+33 145 631 319
http://www.galerie-lelong.com

Opening hours
Tues - Fri, 10.30am - 6pm
Sat, 2pm - 6.30pm
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