ABOUT

ERINNA KÖNIG

Erinna König (1947–2021), born in Warstein in the Sauerland region, is known for her eloquent way of transforming everyday finds, using them to vividly depict subjects that can be interpreted individually. With highly variable interventions and source objects, content and contexts are dynamically suggested in painterly-sculptural compositions.

A master student in Joseph Beuys's inner circle at the Düsseldorf Academy, Erinna König also studied stage design under Teo Otto and graphic design under Diter Roth—and co-founded the first film class under Ole John Povlsen. In the spirit of Beuys's social sculpture, she founded the "Büro Olympia" with Chris Reinecke, Jörg Immendorff, and Henning Brandis, as an organizational center for actions parallel to her studies and throughout the turbulent 1970s. She later expanded this aspect with her artist-run restaurant, OP de Eck, in the Kunstsamnlung NRW, K20, Düsseldorf.

Based in Düsseldorf since 1966, her highly committed work represented art from the Rhineland in a series of seminal exhibitions, including “Schlaglichter” (Spotlights), Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn (1979), Brennpunkt II, die siebziger Jahre, Entwürfe (Focal Point II, the 1970s, Designs), Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf (1991), “Josef Beuys und seine Schüler” (Josef Beuys and his students), Moderna Galeria, Ljubljana, Slovenia (1994), “Der Westen leuchtet” (The West shines), Kunstmuseum Bonn (2010), “Ruhe vor dem Sturm, postminimalistische Kunst aus dem Rheinland” (Calm before the storm, post-minimalist art from the Rhineland), Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen (2015). „Schlaglichter“, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn (1979), Brennpunkt II, die siebziger Jahre, Entwürfe“, Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf (1991), „Josef Beuys und seine Schüler “, Moderna Galeria, Ljubljana, Slowenien (1994), Der Westen leuchtet“, Kunstmuseum Bonn (2010), „Ruhe vor dem Sturm, postminimalistische Kunst aus dem Rheinland“, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen (2015). 

Erinna König's solo exhibition at Thomas Schütte's Skulpturenhalle Neuss in 2020 showcased her masterful hand as an artist-choreographer; the major Erinna König retrospective at the von der Heydt Museum (2023-24) presented her major work to a wider audience.

EK STUDIO

Her self-designed and expanded studio in Düsseldorf-Bilk with its Mediterranean-style backyard has been both her studio and home for the past decades.

In November 2023, Uscha Pohl of UP & CO NY transformed the studio into EK STUDIO and has since curated solo and group exhibitions that highlight different aspects of Erinna König's comprehensive oeuvre.

Die momentane Duo-Ausstellung ‘MIRROR IN TME’ — Michelangelo Pistoletto, Erinna König — stellt die Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft in Relation. Die sozial aktiven ‘68er / 70er Erinna Königs in Düsseldorf (Vergangenheit) stehen dem Werk Michelangelo Pistolettos gegenüber, das Gegenwart, Zukunft und die Entwicklung der Menschheit beinhaltet. > Bis 30. 1. 2026, Finissage 28.1. 2028

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Archival material from the personal estate of Erinna König and the
Rheinischen Archiv für Künstlernachlässe RAK www.rak-bonn.de