{"id":8820,"date":"2024-11-13T16:20:15","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T15:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/kb-kosmos\/michael-buthe\/"},"modified":"2025-01-24T14:26:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T13:26:09","slug":"michael-buthe","status":"publish","type":"digitorial","link":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/en\/kb-kosmos\/michael-buthe\/","title":"Michael Buthe","content":"","excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":{"alt":"Abstract work of art with strong, earthy colors. In the center stands a figure with outstretched arms reminiscent of wings. The surroundings show swirling and layered patterns in white, brown and red that look like feathers or waves of energy. Everything is framed by an intense red border.","title":"Michael Buthe Ohne Titel_Website_KB Kosmos","caption":"Michael Buthe, Untitled, 1971 Kunsthalle Bielefeld, \u00a9 VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024, Photo: Philipp Ottend\u00f6rfer","width":1434,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-150x105.jpg","small":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-300x209.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-768x536.jpg","large":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-1140x795.jpg","full":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos.jpg"},"srcset":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-1140x795.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-150x105.jpg 150w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-768x536.jpg 768w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-520x363.jpg 520w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos.jpg 1434w"},"template":"","digitorialkategorien":[88,86,87],"class_list":["post-8820","digitorial","type-digitorial","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","digitorialkategorien-dream-and-fiction","digitorialkategorien-hybrid-creature","digitorialkategorien-seeking-position"],"acf":{"blocks_content":"   <div class=\"blocks-content container\">\n                                                                              \n         \n         <div class=\" mb-475 mb-sm-5 mb-lg-55\">\n            <div class=\"row justify-content-center the-content \">\n\n               <!-- Headings -->\n                                                                           \n                                             <div class=\"col-12 col-sm-10 text-center\">\n                           <figure class=' -has-caption' ><img src='https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-1140x795.jpg' srcset='https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-1140x795.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-150x105.jpg 150w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-768x536.jpg 768w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos-520x363.jpg 520w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Michael-Buthe-Ohne-Titel_Website_KB-Kosmos.jpg 1434w' sizes='(min-width: 576px) 66vw, 94vw'  alt='Abstract work of art with strong, earthy colors. In the center stands a figure with outstretched arms reminiscent of wings. The surroundings show swirling and layered patterns in white, brown and red that look like feathers or waves of energy. Everything is framed by an intense red border.' width='1140' height='795'  loading='lazy' ><figcaption class='col-12 col-xs-8 col-sm-8 px-sm-3 px-xl-4 mx-auto'>Michael Buthe, Untitled, 1971 Kunsthalle Bielefeld, \u00a9 VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024, Photo: Philipp Ottend\u00f6rfer<\/figcaption><\/figure>                        <\/div>\n                                       \n                              <!-- End Switch Layout  -->\n\n            <\/div>\n         <\/div>\n                                                                                       \n         \n         <div class=\" mb-475 mb-sm-5 mb-lg-55\">\n            <div class=\"row justify-content-center the-content  font-l sans-serif\">\n\n               <!-- Headings -->\n                                 <div class=\"col-12\">\n                     <p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-8820-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Buthe_Ohne-Titel_Eulentraum_KB-Kosmos_301124-230225.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Buthe_Ohne-Titel_Eulentraum_KB-Kosmos_301124-230225.mp3\">https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Buthe_Ohne-Titel_Eulentraum_KB-Kosmos_301124-230225.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<p>Michael Buthe, born in Allg\u00e4u in 1944, grew up in H\u00f6xter near Paderborn, traveled to Morocco for the first time in 1970 and returned changed. His large-format work <em>Untitled<\/em> was created exactly one year after this first journey. Buthe was 26 years old at the time and many long journeys were to follow.<\/p>\n<p>Is it even possible to look at Michael Buthe&#8217;s work without following the intertwined threads of his biography? Always presented as an eccentric character, restless nomad, carefree border crosser or charismatic self-promoter, Buthe was one thing above all: a wanderer, between countries and cultures, in spheres of thought and aesthetics, in spaces between dream and reality.<\/p>\n<p>In the course of his travels, a certain spirituality found its way into Buthe&#8217;s work and a way of thinking that can perhaps be understood as globality in an artistic sense. He tried to bring universal thoughts, colors and symbols to the canvas &#8211; a connection between the world, art and everyday life, between &#8216;Orient&#8217; and &#8216;Occident&#8217;, between the artist&#8217;s personality and his work.<\/p>\n                  <\/div>\n\n                              <!-- End Switch Layout  -->\n\n            <\/div>\n         <\/div>\n                                                                                       \n         \n         <div class=\" mb-475 mb-sm-5 mb-lg-55\">\n            <div class=\"row justify-content-center the-content \">\n\n               <!-- Headings -->\n                                                                                          \n                     <div class=\"content-accordion | col-12 py-3\">\n                        <div id=\"content-accordion-2\">\n                                                         <div class=\"akkordeon-item | bg-gray-200 rounded-4 mb-1\" >   <!-- head -->\n      <h3 class='akkordeon-header font-xl py-125 m-0' id='content-accordion-2-head0'>\n      <button class='akkordeon-header__link d-flex w-100 line-height-12-force  shadow-none font-l-force text-start justify-content-between hover-text-shadow-light btn btn-overlay round collapsed' role='button' data-bs-toggle='collapse' data-bs-target='#content-accordion-2-col0' aria-expanded='false' aria-controls='content-accordion-2-col0'>\n         <span class='akkordeon-header__text pe-3 pe-lg-4'>The \"freed\" human being - Buthe's formal language<\/span>\n         <span class='akkordeon-header__icon round flex-shrink-0'><\/span>\n      <\/button>\n   <\/h3>\n\n   <!-- body -->\n<div id='content-accordion-2-col0' class='accordion-collapse collapse ' aria-labelledby='content-accordion-2-head0' data-bs-parent='#content-accordion-2'><div class='akkordeon-body'>                              <div class=\"akkordeon__text font-l last-child-mb-0 the-content -btns-black px-325 pt-2 pb-35\">\n                                 <p>Buthe had quickly made a name for himself in Germany and Europe and seemed to have found a clear design language. His works were inspired by <a href=\"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/en\/discover\/cultural-education\/art-a-to-z\/#arte-povera\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arte Povera<\/a>. He created minimalist &#8216;paintings&#8217; with a strong emphasis on materials, often using dyed fabrics that were torn and sewn back together on a clearly visible frame construction. However, he left these conceptually functioning works behind him in the 1970s and turned to radically different themes. In the canvases of the 1970s, the abstraction of his early works was increasingly replaced by figuration and a romantic, playful colorfulness.<\/p>\n<p>In his work <em>Untitled<\/em> from 1971, we also see a figure stretching towards the sky, with a spiral and a shining sun behind it. Snail, star, angel, sun or swan &#8211; the symbols of light, life and love are always at the center of his works. <em>&#8220;For me, my sun, like all paintings, is an object for seeing, for feeling, for dreaming, for realizing something,&#8221;<\/em> says Buthe.<\/p>\n<p>The human figure takes center stage in the bold red frame. At the same time, it seems detached from its context. Similar human silhouettes appear in many of Buthe&#8217;s other works. The &#8220;freed people&#8221; can be understood as a symbol of the freedom that the artist has fought for over the course of time. The incredible richness of color in his paintings with gold, feathers and sequins also has something to do with this. The use of these materials and colors not only stands in contrast to modern art history, but also has something theatrical about it. It could be kitsch if it wasn&#8217;t an act of liberation, of thinking without pigeonholes.<\/p>\n<p>Buthe&#8217;s art opens up a space in which different ideas and cultures come together and become a whole. Buthe says in a late interview:  <em>&#8220;There are only images that are true or not true. And that&#8217;s the whole thing.&#8221;<\/em>  Looking back today, we can see that Buthe&#8217;s works are the result of a truly multicultural understanding of art, which was not yet a matter of course in the 1970s.<\/p>\n                              <\/div>\n                              <\/div><\/div><\/div>                                                         <div class=\"akkordeon-item | bg-gray-200 rounded-4 mb-1\" >   <!-- head -->\n      <h3 class='akkordeon-header font-xl py-125 m-0' id='content-accordion-2-head1'>\n      <button class='akkordeon-header__link d-flex w-100 line-height-12-force  shadow-none font-l-force text-start justify-content-between hover-text-shadow-light btn btn-overlay round collapsed' role='button' data-bs-toggle='collapse' data-bs-target='#content-accordion-2-col1' aria-expanded='false' aria-controls='content-accordion-2-col1'>\n         <span class='akkordeon-header__text pe-3 pe-lg-4'>Border crosser between the worlds - A short biography of Michael Buthe<\/span>\n         <span class='akkordeon-header__icon round flex-shrink-0'><\/span>\n      <\/button>\n   <\/h3>\n\n   <!-- body -->\n<div id='content-accordion-2-col1' class='accordion-collapse collapse ' aria-labelledby='content-accordion-2-head1' data-bs-parent='#content-accordion-2'><div class='akkordeon-body'>                              <div class=\"akkordeon__text font-l last-child-mb-0 the-content -btns-black px-325 pt-2 pb-35\">\n                                 <figure id=\"attachment_8473\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8473\" style=\"width: 288px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8473\" src=\"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Buthe-Portraet_Foto-Angelika-Platen.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photograph of the artist Michael Buthe as a young man with medium-length, curly hair. Three large, light-colored feathers are attached to his hair, one of which hangs slightly in his face. Buthe looks directly into the camera with a neutral expression.\" width=\"288\" height=\"192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Buthe-Portraet_Foto-Angelika-Platen.jpg 590w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Buthe-Portraet_Foto-Angelika-Platen-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Buthe-Portraet_Foto-Angelika-Platen-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Buthe-Portraet_Foto-Angelika-Platen-520x345.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8473\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Buthe, Portrait<br \/>Photo: Angelika Platen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Michael Buthe was born on August 1, 1944 in Sonthofen, Bavaria, and grew up in H\u00f6xter (North Rhine-Westphalia). From 1964 to 1968 he studied in Kassel, where he first took preliminary courses in applied painting before studying at the State Academy of Fine Arts under Arnold Bode. He held a major exhibition in H\u00f6xter as early as 1963. After graduating, he set up a studio in Cologne. By the end of the 1960s, he had already established himself as a sculptor and draughtsman, and took part in exhibitions in Germany and Europe.<\/p>\n<p>In 1970, Buthe traveled to Morocco for the first time &#8211; a formative experience that laid the foundations for his lifelong fascination with Africa and Asia. He commutes between the Rhineland and Marrakesh (Morocco), traveling through the Maghreb and the Middle East, Southern Europe and Africa. When he travels, he usually stays in one place for several months, immersing himself in the local culture and working on site. The foreign world fascinates him, the archaic power of religious rituals and magical practices, the noisy everyday and festive culture, the opulence of oriental colors and ornaments. Encounters with non-European cultures promote a double crossing of borders. The distinction between &#8216;Orient&#8217; and &#8216;Occident&#8217; became just as meaningless for Buthe as the separation of art and life.<\/p>\n<p>These experiences flow intensively into his artistic working methods. However, he keeps his main residence in Cologne and occasionally retreats to a remote studio on the Ziegenberg in H\u00f6xter. In 1976, he set up a private museum in his Cologne studio, the <em>Mus\u00e9e du Akhenaton<\/em>. In 1981, he became a visiting professor at the D\u00fcsseldorf Art Academy and was appointed professor for life in 1983.<\/p>\n<p>From the mid-1970s until his early death, Buthe maintained a unique, independent position in contemporary German art. On November 14, 1994, he died of a liver ailment at the age of 50 after a long illness. During his lifetime, only two German museums showed his works in solo exhibitions. It seems as if Buthe&#8217;s originally utopian sentence &#8220;<em>There is no art at all, there is only life&#8221;<\/em> has turned into a prophecy against his own work.<\/p>\n                              <\/div>\n                              <\/div><\/div><\/div>                                                   <\/div>\n                     <\/div>\n                  \n                  <!-- Sonsiges Block (HTML Option) -->\n                              <!-- End Switch Layout  -->\n\n            <\/div>\n         <\/div>\n                                                                                       \n         \n         <div class=\" mb-475 mb-sm-5 mb-lg-55\">\n            <div class=\"row justify-content-center the-content \">\n\n               <!-- Headings -->\n                                                                                          \n                     <div class=\"content-accordion | col-12 py-3\">\n                        <div id=\"content-accordion-3\">\n                                                         <div class=\"akkordeon-item | bg-gray-200 rounded-4 mb-1\" >   <!-- head -->\n      <h3 class='akkordeon-header font-xl py-125 m-0' id='content-accordion-3-head0'>\n      <button class='akkordeon-header__link d-flex w-100 line-height-12-force  shadow-none font-l-force text-start justify-content-between hover-text-shadow-light btn btn-overlay round collapsed' role='button' data-bs-toggle='collapse' data-bs-target='#content-accordion-3-col0' aria-expanded='false' aria-controls='content-accordion-3-col0'>\n         <span class='akkordeon-header__text pe-3 pe-lg-4'>Data about the artwork<\/span>\n         <span class='akkordeon-header__icon round flex-shrink-0'><\/span>\n      <\/button>\n   <\/h3>\n\n   <!-- body -->\n<div id='content-accordion-3-col0' class='accordion-collapse collapse ' aria-labelledby='content-accordion-3-head0' data-bs-parent='#content-accordion-3'><div class='akkordeon-body'>                              <div class=\"akkordeon__text font-l last-child-mb-0 the-content -btns-black px-325 pt-2 pb-35\">\n                                 <p><strong>Artist:<br \/>\n<\/strong>Michael Buthe, (1.8.1944 born in Sonthofen, 15.11.1994 died in Bad Godesberg)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Title:<br \/>\n<\/strong>Untitled<\/p>\n<p><strong>Year:<br \/>\n<\/strong>1971<\/p>\n<p><strong>Material\/technique:<br \/>\n<\/strong>Mixed media on paper on canvas<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dimensions:<br \/>\n<\/strong>294 x 424.3 cm<\/p>\n<p><strong>Added to the collection:<br \/>\n<\/strong>1995, acquired by Dr. Ulrich Weisner<\/p>\n                              <\/div>\n                              <\/div><\/div><\/div>                                                   <\/div>\n                     <\/div>\n                  \n                  <!-- Sonsiges Block (HTML Option) -->\n                              <!-- End Switch Layout  -->\n\n            <\/div>\n         <\/div>\n                                                                                       \n         \n         <div class=\" mb-475 mb-sm-5 mb-lg-55\">\n            <div class=\"row justify-content-center the-content  font-m g-sm-4 g-md-5 sans-serif\">\n\n               <!-- Headings -->\n                                 <div class=\"col-12 col-sm-6 col-md-6\">\n                     <p><strong>Author:<\/strong> Elena S\u00fcllwald<\/p>\n                  <\/div>\n\n                              <!-- End Switch Layout  -->\n\n            <\/div>\n         <\/div>\n                  <\/div>\n","gallerie":null,"subtitle":"Untitled"},"id_default":8313,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/digitorial\/8820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/digitorial"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/digitorial"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/digitorial\/8820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"digitorialkategorien","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kunsthalle-bielefeld.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/digitorialkategorien?post=8820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}