Horst Becking

Horst Becking (born 1937)
The artist received his basic artistic training at the Universities of Applied Sciences for Graphic Arts and Design in Dortmund and Wuppertal. He then studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf in the 1970s, initially in Joseph Beuys’s class and later under Rupprecht Geiger, whose master student he became.

Shaped by his youth in post-war Germany, he felt a strong connection to jazz, as evidenced by his first exhibitions at the Jazz Club Hagen. Together with like-minded people, the club became a creative hub and a refuge from a narrow-minded, conservative society. This was followed by membership of the West German Artists’ Association, which gained national significance through its exhibitions.

In addition to painting, Horst Becking discovered etching and the practice of painting over old papers. In countless second-hand bookshops, he discovered old manuscripts, whose soft, yellowed paper served as the basis for his paintings. His love of books gave rise to his first artist’s book, ‘Briefe’, based on texts by Franz Kafka. To this day, books and portfolios based on literary works remain a central focus of his work.

Study trips and working residencies in countries including Belgium, France, Italy, the USA and Canada are indispensable to his artistic practice. His experiences are translated into gouaches, oil paintings, artist’s books and portfolios. These travels inspired him to paint on large canvases, and in the process he continually discovered new painting surfaces which particularly inspired him due to their signs of wear and tear. In Venice, he found the remnants of a market tarpaulin (baschè) in the rubbish and has used this as a painting surface ever since. Through his countless trips to the Mediterranean, he has become completely captivated by the colour blue. Blue, with its beauty and depth, is an integral part of his work. His practice is characterised by an experimental approach to colour and form, often utilising large-format canvases.

Study trips and working residencies in countries including Belgium, France, Italy, the USA and Canada are indispensable to his artistic practice. His experiences are translated into gouaches, oil paintings, artist’s books and portfolios. These travels inspired him to paint on large canvases, and in the process he continually discovered new painting surfaces which particularly inspired him due to their signs of wear and tear. In Venice, he found the remnants of a market tarpaulin (baschè) in the rubbish and has used this as a painting surface ever since. Through his countless trips to the Mediterranean, he has become completely captivated by the colour blue. Blue, with its beauty and depth, is an integral part of his work. His practice is characterised by an experimental approach to colour and form, often utilising large-format canvases.

“Becking’s works reflect a profound engagement with nature and human perception. His style is often described as a combination of informal painting and lyrical abstraction, with a focus on the use of colour and texture. His works encourage us, the viewers, to engage deeply with colour and its emotional impact. Are these abstract paintings in which figurative elements emerge as fragments of memory—mountains, paths, trees—sometimes more clearly, sometimes less? The fleetingness of the moment of remembrance seems captured within them, frozen in the act of drawing and painting, and the brushwork of these images thus corresponds to the fluidity and vagueness of a fading memory. The gesturally drawn outline of a mountain and the lines and colours of a landscape become signs, ciphers, symbols and metaphors; they stimulate associations, hint at the recognisable, only to dissolve and vanish just as quickly. They are open images that set our imagination on a journey.” Dr Siegfried Gnichwitz