Donation: Eugen Batz

In 1931 Batz followed Klee to the Düsseldorf Kunstakademie where he continued working as his master student. Batz began applying abstraction to his own paintings, aquarelles and graphic works as early as the 1930s. As his artistic style increasingly gravitated to the Art Informel after World War II, he succeeded in establishing himself as a fine artist. His works were shown at numerous (predominantly national) exhibitions in the 1950s and 1960s. A highlight of his career came in 1959 when he participated in the second edition of the documenta in Kassel under head curator Werner Haft in a show that featured important works of abstract art. From the mid-1960s until his death in 1986, Batz’s style became more figurative in nature. In addition to paintings, his extensive oeuvre includes numerous aquarelles, ink drawings and numerous small-format illustrations sketched with pencil or ballpoint pen. Batz also produced a number of graphic prints, compiled into several portfolios. We wish to thank the GLS Treuhand in Bochum for this valuable donation.