Ludwig Mannhalter is a Hungarian-born abstract painter, living and working in Bad Nauheim, Germany. His highly textured paintings are executed in the impasto style, which consists of applying thick layers of oil and acrylic paint, using only a palette knife. Added structure is conveyed through craquelure and occasional scratch marks from the spatula. In the tradition of tachiste artists, namely Nicolas de Staël, shapes are reduced to blocks of colors alluding to rudimentary landscapes and architectural views. Bold tones alternating with elegant grays and beiges fill rectangular chromatic fields of varying dimensions, creating a sense of dynamism and tension. Although influenced by Art Informel and the existential philosophy of Nietzsche, Mannhalter does not like to be boxed into a category and regards art as non-definable.
Mannhalter studied architecture in Budapest and later moved to Germany, where he runs his family’s leather business. He has been painting abstract art for the past fifty years. His work was featured in exhibitions and fairs in the United States and Europe, most notably the International Art Fair (Venice, Rome, Paris, Innsbruck, Brussels, and London), Affordable Art Fair (New York), Red Dot Miami (Miami), RheinMain CongressCenter and the Kurhaus (Wiesbaden), and the Danubius Hotel Gellert (Budapest).
LUDWIG MANNHALTER ON
No. 5, 2022
Oil on canvas
23.5” x 19.5”
No. 7, 2022
Oil on canvas
27.5” x 19.5”
No. 8, 2021
Burlap collage & oil on canvas 27.5” x 27.5”
$1950
No. 56, 2021 Oil on canvas 12” x 12”
No. 104, 2023
Acrylic & oil on canvas
19.5” x 23.5”
No. 105, 2023
Acrylic & oil on canvas
27.5” x 27.5”
No. 106, 2023
Acrylic & oil on canvas
19.5” x 27.5”
No. 107, 2022
Oil on canvas
19.5” x 23.5”
No. 110, 2023
Acrylic & oil on canvas
15.5” x 19.5”
No. 111, 2023
Acrylic & oil on canvas
19.5” x 27.5”
No. 112, 2023
Acrylic & oil on canvas
19.5” x 27.5”
Fluctuating between the representational and the abstract, I paint landscapes by reducing complex forms to square and rectangular shapes of varying dimensions. Working exclusively with a palette knife, I apply heavy pastose layers of oil and acrylic paint, creating a rough surface interrupted by occasional scratches and craquelure. I achieve tension and dynamism in my work, by constructing overlapped or adjacent blocks of densely saturated color. As I paint, I let myself be guided by my impulses, without following any pre-established patterns. I draw inspiration from the spontaneity of Art Informel and the raw simplicity of Matterism, letting myself be guided solely by my impulses, without following any pre-established patterns.
ORIGINAL LUDWIG MANNHALTER ARTWORKS ON
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