Gerhard "Gerd" Leufert (1914 – 1998) was a German Empire-born Venezuelan painter, photographer, and graphic designer. He is credited with bringing German design principles to Venezuela in the 1950s.[1]
Gerd Leufert | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gerhard Leufert June 9, 1914 Memel, German Empire (present-day Klaipėda, Lithuania) |
| Died | January 22, 1998 Caracas, Venezuela |
| Education | Academy of Fine Arts, Munich |
| Occupation(s) | Painter, drawer, photographer, graphic designer, curator |
| Movement | Abstract |
| Partner | Gertrud Louise Goldschmidt (1952–1994; death) |
Early life and education
editGerhard "Gerd" Leufert was born in 1914, in Memel, German Empire (present-day Klaipėda, Lithuania).[2]
He studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich.[1] He additionally studied under Fritz Helmuth Ehmcke, Walter Teutsch, and Friedrich Heubner. While in Munich he was a member of the Deutscher Werkbund, a craft association.[1]
Career
editAfter World War II, he worked as a graphic designer for publishing houses such as Piper, Biederstein, Oldenburg, and Hansen. In 1947, he became the led at the graphic studio Bayrisches Bild in Munich, which was founded by Ehmcke. In 1951, he emigrated to Caracas, Venezuela,[1] and obtained the position of an art director at the McCann Erickson advertising agency.
While in Venezuela, he met his future partner, Gego (née Gertrud Louise Goldschmidt).[3] From 1953 to 1956, Leufert and Gego moved to the small mountain town of Tarma in Vargas State.[4][5] In 1959 he traveled to the United States to pursue studies at the University of Iowa, and graphic design at the Pratt Institute in New York City.[5]
Leufert worked at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas, from 1961 to 1973.[1] He was the museums first graphic designer, and later worked as their curator of drawings.[1] As a painter, he was interested in abstract work.[5]
Awards
editIn 1965, Leufert won the National Prize for Painting in Venezuela, for his hard edge and graphic paintings.[6] In 1990, he was awarded the National Prize of Plastic Arts of Venezuela, followed by an exhibition of his photographs at Sala RG, Caracas.[1]
Collections
editHis work can be found in museum collections, including at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in Providence, Rhode Island;[7] the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas;[8] the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in Houston, Texas;[9] the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City;[10] and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.[11]
Exhibitions
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Gerd Leufert. Imaginary Spaces". Meer. April 25, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ Made in Venezuela: Arts & Literature: a Special Issue of Venezuelan News & Views. Embassy of Venezuela. 1993. p. 18.
- ^ Fattal, Laura (February 27, 2009). "Gertrude/Gego Goldschmidt". Jewish Women's Archive.
- ^ Print Quarterly. Vol. 21, Issue 1. Print Quarterly Limited. 2004. p. 71.
- ^ a b c d Peruga, Iris (August 2008). "Gerd Leufert: Creator of Unknown Forms". ArtNexus, No. 70.
- ^ Traba, Marta (January 1, 1994). Art of Latin America: 1900-1980. Inter-American Development Bank. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-940602-73-1.
- ^ "Tirima". RISD Museum. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ "Gerd Leufert". Blanton Museum of Art. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ "Untitled". The MFAH Collections. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ Leufert, Gerd (1966), "Visibilia", Metropolitan Museum of Art, retrieved February 19, 2025
- ^ "Gerd Leufert". The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Retrieved February 19, 2025.