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Basic Data

Dieter Roth was a German-Swiss artist and poet. Today he is one of the most prominent representatives of Concrete poetry. His multifaceted and interdisciplinary oeuvre is close to Dadaism, Fluxus and New Realism.

  • Born: 21 April 1939
  • Died: 1998
  • Place of birth: Hannover, Germany
  • Nationality: Swiss art
  • Similar artists: Daniel Spoerri, Arnulf Rainer, Hundertwasser
  • Era: modern art 
  • Stylistic direction: Eat Art, Performance art

Biography

Dieter Roth was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1930 and moved to Switzerland in 1943. Originally trained as a graphic designer, Roth began to work more intensively with art in the 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s, the artist gained international recognition for his work.

Dieter Roth was a pioneering artist who challenged traditional boundaries in art. By using unconventional materials and approaches, he left a legacy that is both provocative and inspiring, expanding the understanding of materiality, time, and decay in art. He is known for his "Chocolate Paintings" and "Sausage Books," among others, in which he used organic materials such as chocolate and sausage as artistic mediums. These works are biodegradable and change over time, raising questions about transience and decay in art.

Roth's works have been exhibited in major institutions worldwide and have had a lasting influence on subsequent generations of artists, particularly in the fields of conceptual art and Arte Povera. The artist died in Basel in 1998. Today he is counted among the most important Swiss artists. 

 

Exhibitions

  • 07.09.2023 – 10.03.2025 And Cut – Collage in Icelandic Art – Listasafn Islands – National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik.
  • 08.07.2023 – 22.10.2023 Bibliomania - Das Buch In Der Kunst – Städtische Galerie Bietigheim-Bissingen.
  • 10.06.2023 – 19.11.2023 OUT OF THE BOX – Schaulager, Münchenstein.
  • 14.05.2023 – 03.09.2023 Blank. Raw. Illegible... Artists' Books as Statements (1960-2022) - Leopold Hoesch Museum + Papiermuseum Düren.
  • 13.04.2023 – 05.05.2023 BRAD DOWNEY - I AM YOU, YOU ARE ME - HDLU - Croatian Association of Artists, Zagreb.
  • 09.12.2022 – 09.09.2023 Roth Bar – HAUSER & WIRTH St.Moritz.
  • 02.07.2022 – 06.11.2022 Kollaborationen - MUMOK Wien, Vienna.
  • 21.06.2022 – 18.09.2022 Minimalism and Conceptual Art - Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Theran.
  • 17.02.2022 – 09.04.2023 ThisPlay - ARTER Istanbul.
  • 03.10.21 – 04.01.22 Distance Extended / 1979 – 1997: Part II – Herbert Foundation, Ghent.
  • 15.10.21 – 06.03.22 The Point of Sculpture – Fondacio Joan Miro, Barcelona.
  • 19.09.21 – 14.11.21 Das Ensemble schreibt das Stück. 70 Jahre heute - Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen.
  • 25.08.21 – 17.10.21 Barock Modern - Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf.
  • 04.08.21 – 30.12.21 FLUXUS-Kriegskinder – museum FLUXUS+ Potsdam.
  • 27.02.21 – 26.09.21 wild/schön - Kunsthalle Emden.
  • 18.01.21 – 14.03.21 The Essl Collection - Albertina, Vienna.
  • 01.10.20 – 28.08.20 Fragile Schöpfung - Dom Museum Wien, Vienna.
  • 23.09.20 – 01.03.21 Disonata. Art in Sound up to 1980 - Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid.
  • 15.05.20 – 16.08.20 Wolken in der zeitgenössischen Kunst – flüchtig – zeichenhaft – bedrohlich – Oldenburger Kunstverein.
  • 19.02.20 – 26.06.20 Amuse-bouche. The Taste of Art – Museum Tinguely, Basel.
  • 23.11.19 – 19.04.20 Vertigo. Op Art und die Geschichte des Schwindels 1520-1970 - Kunstmuseum Stuttgart.
  • 18.10.19 – 17.11.19 POSTCARD RELOADED - Kunstraum Potsdam c/o Waschhaus, Potsdam.
  • 20.09.19 – 05.01.20 PICASSO – GORKY – WARHOL - Kunsthaus Zürich.
  • 25.05.19 – 26.10.19 Vertigo. Op Art und eine Geschichte des Schwindels 1520–1970 - MUMOK Vienna.
  • 25.05.19 – 01.03.20 gestalten - ein Jahrhundert abstrakte Kunst im Westen - Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, Aachen.
  • 30.03.19 – 05.01.20 So wie wir sind 1.0 - Weserburg Bremen.
  • 30.09.18 – 16.12.18 Ich und mein Selfie - Kunsthaus Apolda Avantgarde.
  • 01.09.18 – 02.01.19 Surrealismus Schweiz - Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau.
  • 26.04.18 – 30.06.18 DIETER ROTH * DITER ROT * DIETER ROTH - Galerie und Verlag St. Gertrude, Hamburg.
  • 20.04.18 – 19.08.19 Flashes of the Future. Die Kunst der 68er oder Die Macht der Ohnmächtigen - Ludwig Forum, Aachen.
  • 28.04.18 – 19.08.19 schwarz weiß - Städtische Galerie im Park, Viersen.

 

Awards

  • 1954: Prize of the Kiefer-Hablitzel Foundation for Painting.
  • 1991: Geneva Prix Caran d'Ache Beaux Arts.
  • 1994: Grand Art Prize of the Akademie der Künste Berlin.

 

Films

  • Dieter Roth, documentary, direction: Edith Jud, 118 min, Germany 2003.

 

Literature

  • Künstlerbücher - die Sammlung, Andrea Joosten (Publ.), Petra Roettig (Publ.), Hamburg 2017.
  • Karin Sander präsentiert Dieter Roth, Gerhard Theewen (Publ.), Cologne 2016.
  • Dieter Roth, balle balle knalle, Ulrike Groos (Publ.), Cologne 2015.
  • Roth der Grosse. Klever, Nils Röller, Vienna 2013.
  • Dieter Roth – Die Bibliothek. Bundesamt für Kultur, Johannes Gachnang, Bern 2003.
  • Dieter Roth – Die Haut der Welt, Ina Conzen, Cologne 2000.

 

Collections

Germany

 

Austria

 

France

 

Spain

 

USA

 

Weblinks