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Dr. hc Bernhard G. Lehmann
Painter and sculptor


Publications

Pictures of the book
Mallorca - reality or dream
Biography / Biography

• 07/12/1944 born / born in
Bad Suderode
• from 1946 / living in Berlin (West)
• 1963 Abitur / Baccalaureate
• Completed in 1972
Pharmacy degree/ Exam in Pharmacy
studies
• from 1975 - 1977 artistic
Training with Rolf Richter, Berlin /
Education of art by Rolf Richter, Berlin
• from 1980 / living in Jevenstedt /
Schleswig-Holstein alive
• since 1981 artistic advice to
Galerie Jevenstedt / Artistic Advisor of
the gallery Jevenstedt
Exhibitions and participations since 1975 national /
Exhibitions and participations national from 1975
Andernach, Bad Segeberg, Berlin, Eckernförde, Hamburg, Garbsen, Jevenstedt, Kiel, Konstanz, Lübeck, Lüneburg, Mainz, Neumünster, Norderstedt, Rendsburg, Schenefeld, Schleswig.
international
Finland, France, the USA, Holland, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Norway, Azerbaijan and Japan.
Art Affairs
ongoing / changing Landesschau Schleswig-Holstein, Art Frankfurt, Art Hamburg, art multiple Düsseldorf, Fiac Saga Paris, estampa Madrid, arco Madrid and Gent, Innsbruck, Vienna, Cologne, Miami, Santander
Awards / Award and Honors

• 1999 City Sculpture Prize
Mörfelden, Walldorf / Sculpture award of
Moerfelden, Walldorf
• 2006 honorary doctorate from the academy
of Fine Arts Baku,
Azerbaijan/ Honored doctor of the
Academy of Fine Arts Baku,
Azerbaijan
• Award of the FiberArt Biennale Bejing,
China
Works in public space and collections / objects in public places
In addition to many private collections and in public spaces, Bernhard G. Lehmann is also represented in
Apart from many private collections and public spaces is Bernhard G. Lehmann also represented in
• Schleswig-Holstein
State MuseumGottorf Castle
• Pablo Casals Foundation, El Vendrell
• Kunming Art Museum, China
• German Embassy Baku, Azerbaijan
• museum of contemporary art,
Baku,Azerbaijan
Represented by galleries nationally and internationally /
Presented by galeries national and interneational in

• Kunsthaus Lübeck, Lübeck
• Art dealer Thilo Steiger, Lübeck
• Bausmann Gallery, Mainz
• in-Cultura.com, Hamburg
• Petra Lange Gallery, Berlin
• Kunsthaus Schöne, Andernach
• Geiger Gallery, Constance
• Kunsthaus Lendl, Graz / Austria
• Canem Galeria, Castellon / Spain
• Qiz Qalasi Gallery, Baku / Azerbaijan
Memberships / member of
among others in the BBK Schleswig-Holstein and the Association of Berlin Artists, honorary member of the Azerbaijan Artists' Association
among other in BBK in Schleswig-Holstein and Berlin Artists Association, Honorary Member of the "Association of Azerbaijan Artists"
German - German

Space from the spirit of music -
Some subjective comments on the work of Bernhard G. Lehmann
Some of Bernhard G. Lehmann's objects form a structure that is reminiscent of sheet music, but they do not correspond to the order of an obbligate, blank sheet music. The number of parallel wires changes from a few - about two or three - and increases to an amount that is impossible to grasp at first glance, they form into arcs, into rhythmically structured lines, they swing, only held firmly at one end, in the free space and end in ends of the same or different lengths. They arouse the idea of being able to produce, sound or hum tones, they resemble a music evoked by the room. Similar structures can be found in some of the artist's drawings from 2001; they are typically entitled "Musical Hike".
The fact that Hans Werner Henze, who visited the artist in his Rendsburg studio, was taken with this art seems almost taken for granted, if not accidental. Before the composer asked him to work for his garden, the painter and sculptor had taken the first step towards the encounter. After reading Henze's memoirs "Travel songs with Bohemian fifths" and after listening to a collection of Henze's music that was published on his 70th birthday, he gave him a work entitled "Let's talk about music". The reaction to this came with Henze's wish to get a larger work for his garden near Rome. The creation of this work documents a small bibliophile treasure; it describes the development of the idea, its concept and its realization in words that also describe the closeness to the music. There is talk of associations with a ballet, of “three movements”, with which the three elements, which exist independently of one another but are composed as a unit, are described. Visually, this division is communicated as calm and static, but also as movement and dynamics, as a technical-artificial form alongside and in the life of nature formed by the garden. The thin, dark branches of the tree standing next to it respond to the freest possible precision of the shining steel strings, their black drawing corresponds to the light lines of the wires attached to the arch, and the sky above the gray garden wall is reflected in the metal surfaces with which the wires are attached being held.
Music and the visual arts have long been closely related, although they target other senses. Kandinsky's theories, the experiments of the composer and painter Ciurlionis, and Goethe's statement about architecture as music turned into stone are often quoted as evidence of the parallelism between music and the visual arts. But the sources for such an idea go back much further, for example to the theory of proportion, in which the artists of the Renaissance saw the aesthetic standard par excellence. This teaching transferred the steps of the scale to the harmonious proportions of rooms, figures and the structure of the images. When the architect Leone Battista Alberti described his three basic proportions based on Ficino's comment on Plato's “Timaeus”, he spoke of the “musical” proportion as the most harmonious. However, his judgment only took up what he knew from Plato, Plato from the Pythagoreans, who presumably had learned from the Indian Brahmins. From them, Buddha and the authors of his sutras also adopted the idea of the world order in the harmony of the spheres - their graphic representation, which we find on the lotus leaves of the great Buddha in Nara, shows the same parallel arcs of lines as the bent wires of the sculpture in Hans Werner Henze's garden. The fact that Bernhard G. Lehmann was elected honorary member of the Azerbaijan Artists' Union, a country on the edge of the Silk Road, along which the teachings of the Brahmins reached the west and east, fits in with these similarities in musical and artistic traditions that span millennia and continents. What seems so new and modern about Bernhard G. Lehmann's steel structures has a solid foundation, even if neither the sculptor nor the composer may be aware of this. Is it what is consciously put before the eyes or ears that gives art its meaning, or is it inheritance that is communicated as a matter of course?

Hamburg, January 2006.
Prof. Dr. Heinz Spielmann

english / englisch

Space from the spirit of music -
Some subjective comments on the work of Bernhard G. Lehmann
 
Some of Bernhard G. Lehmann’s objects have a structure which is similar to sheet music, although they do not correspond to the obligatory order of unwritten sheet paper. The number of parallel strings varies from a few – two or three – and increases to a number which cannot be discerned at first glance, they form arches, rhythmically structured lines, they swing freely, are only attached at one end, and harmonically fade into equal or different endings. They inspire the imagination to create sounds, to ring or hum, and resemble a room full of music. Similar structures can be found in some of the drawings made by the artist in 2001; they bear the characteristic title “Musikalische Wanderung (Musical wandering)".
 
The fact that Hans Werner Henze, who visited the artist in his Rendsburg workshop, was taken by this art, seems almost a matter of course, even if it was not by chance. The painter and sculptor already had already taken the first steps towards the encounter, before the composer even asked him for a piece of art for his garden. After reading Henze’s autobiography “Reiselieder mit böhmischen Quinten [Travel Songs With Bohemian Fifths]" and hearing a collection of Henze’s music, which was released on his 70th birthday, he gave him a piece of art with the title "Let’s talk about music“. The reaction to it was in accordance with Henze’s desire to obtain a larger piece of art for his garden near Rome. A small treasure for bibliophiles documents the conception of this work; it describes the development of the idea, its concept and the realisation with words, which also describe the closeness to music. Here there is talk of connotations with a ballet and of “three lines” which is used to refer to the three individually established elements which together form one unit. Optically this division is communicated as peace and stasis, but also as movement and dynamism, as a technical-artificial form alongside and in the life of the garden formed by nature. The thin, dark branches of the tree next to it respond to the freeness of the precision of the illuminated steel music wires, while their black figure corresponds with the light lines of the wires attached to the arch, and the sky above the grey garden wall reflects off the metallic surfaces on which the wires are held.
 
Music and visual art have been in a close relationship with each other for a long time, although they are orientated to different senses. The theories of Kandinsky, the experiments of the composer and painter Ciurlioni and even Goethe’s saying about architecture as music turned to stone are readily quoted as evidence of the parallelism of music and visual arts. But the sources of these ideas stretch much further back, to the teachings of proportionism, in which the artists of the renaissance plainly saw the aesthetic benchmark. These teachings transferred the levels of the musical scale to the harmonic proportions of rooms, figures and image formation. The architect Leone Battista Alberti spoke as he, based on Ficino’s commentary on Plato’s “Timaios”, described three basic proportions, with the “musical” proportion as the most harmonic. His findings however only seized on what he learnt from Plato, Plato in turn learnt from Pythagoras, who supposedly found out from the Brahmans of India. Buddha and the composer of his sutras also took on the idea of world order in the harmony of the spheres from them – the graphic depiction which is found on the lotus leaves of the great Buddha in Nara, exhibits the same parallel arches as the arched wires of the plastic in Hans Werner Henze’s garden. It is fitting to the similarities in musical and design conventions which bridge these millennia and continents that Bernhard G. Lehmann has been chosen as an honorary member of the Union of Azerbaijan Artists, a country at the edge of the silk route, along which the teachings of the Brahmans were brought to the West. What we find so new and modern in Bernhard G. Lehmann’s steel shapes actually has a sound foundation, even though neither the sculptor nor the composer may be aware of it. Is it the conscious placement on view or for hearing which gives art its meaning, or the legacy which it self-evidently communicates? 

Hamburg, January 2006. Prof. Dr. heinz Spielmann
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