Herbert HAMAK
Installation view at Kenji Taki Gallery, Tokyo 2005
Rather than “painting” colors onto the surface of a canvas, his works are created using a unique technique in which polyurethane resin mixed with pigment is poured into a mold and cured together with the canvas as a thick block of color. As a result, the works are presented on the wall as “three-dimensional sculptures” with overwhelming mass, despite maintaining the structure of a “two-dimensional painting.”
Their most prominent feature is the inherent transparency of the synthetic resin. The pigmented resin absorbs and refracts surrounding natural and artificial light within, creating the effect as if the artwork itself is emitting light from the inside. Color emerges before the viewer not merely as surface decoration, but as a physical “volume” with depth.
His stripped-down, geometric forms (such as rectangular cuboids) connect to the lineage of Minimal Art. However, his works are not cold or inorganic; they constantly change in appearance depending on the time of day, weather, and shifting light sources. Their defining characteristic is how they capture the light of the space (architectural or natural) where they are placed, resonating with the entire environment. Furthermore, as an extension of “murals,” he has presented works that combine pillars and color, as well as large-scale installations that can be seen as collaborations with historical architecture. The softly textured layers or masses of color reveal various expressions depending on the space they occupy and the surrounding lighting conditions.
Biography
1952: Born in Lower Franconia (Unterfranken), Germany.
Since the 1990s, he has garnered international attention for his unique three-dimensional works that blur the boundaries between painting and sculpture. He has exhibited in museums and galleries primarily in Europe, and is highly acclaimed for his large-scale, site-specific installations that respond to architectural and historical structures. He currently lives and works in Hammelburg, Germany.
Selected Exhibitions
1992: Solo Exhibition, Portikus, Frankfurt (Curated by Kasper König)
1993: Solo Exhibition, Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt
1996: Solo Exhibition, Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt
1996–1997: Solo Exhibition, Kunstverein Stuttgart, Stuttgart
1997: Solo Exhibition, De Beyerd Center for Contemporary Art, Breda, Netherlands
2005: Solo Exhibition, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
2005: Colorful! Introduction to Art for Kids and Adults, The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, Takasaki
2006: Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy
2007: Solo Exhibition, Arco del Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona, Italy
2010: Solo Exhibition, Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld, Germany
2011: MMK 1991–2011: 20 Years of Presence (20th Anniversary Exhibition), Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt
2013: Solo Exhibition, Galerie Tanit, Munich
2013: Solo Exhibition, A Bunch of Roses, Studio la Città, Verona
2013: Solo Exhibition, Galerie Xippas, Paris
2015: Solo Exhibition, Museo Lapidario Maffeiano, Verona, Italy
2017: Solo Exhibition, At the End of the Rainbow, Studio la Città (temporary space), Milan
Solo Exhibitions at Kenji Taki Gallery
1997: Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya
1998: Kenji Taki Gallery, Tokyo
2000: Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya / Tokyo
2002: Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya / Tokyo
2005: Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya / Tokyo
2010: Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya / Tokyo
2018: Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya / Tokyo
Public Collections & Major Installations
Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Germany
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany
Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (Installation)
Museum Wiesbaden, Germany
Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy (among others)