The Artist

ALFRED DARDA

The painter Alfred Darda was born in 1937 in Sickingmühle, Westphalia. He received his formal education at the Werkkunstschule (Arts College) Dortmund, the Folkwang University of the Arts Essen and the Academy of Fine Arts Munich. Following his initial success in the field of Concrete Painting, the artist made a shift in 1973 towards so-called integrative thinking and creating, an approach based on Zen Buddhist principles that has since defined his work. His first solo exhibit was held in 1974 at the Städtische Galerie (Urban Gallery) in Lenbachhaus in the former Kunstforum. Through the constant evolution of his approach, Darda developed a highly individual and distinct style and advanced to become one of the most interesting figures in the field of modern art. Up until 2012 the painter kept a workshop on Adalberstraße in Munich with his wife, painter Erika Hausdörffer. They have since moved to a farmhouse in Allgäu where they currently live and work.

Darda’s work is imbued with philosophical intonations. For him, painting is a dialogue with the tangible, creativity a holistic principle essential to mankind, the creation of art synonymous with savoir vivre. He views the reconciliation between human nature and the natural world as an integral prerequisite for an unfettered creative process. Starting with all manner of discovered objects, the painter explores the structural properties of material and draws from them the basis for his diverse design ideas.

Alfred Darda never bowed down to the principles of the art market and the dependency associated with them. Nevertheless his work achieved widespread recognition and pervasiveness as evidenced by its acquisition on the part of renowned institutions like the Staatliche Grafische Sammlung (State Graphic Collection), Munich; the Städtische Galerie (Urban Gallery) in Lenbachhaus, Munich; the Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munich; the German Bundestag, the Bayerische Beamtenversicherung (Bavarian Insurance for Civil Servants), the Munich Reinsurance Company and more. His work has also been frequently presented to the public in solo and group exhibitions. In 1982 Alfred Darda received the distinguished Seerosenpreis presented to distinguished artists in the Munich area.