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.
On October 28, 2025, the exhibition ‘MIRROR IN TME’ — Michelangelo Pistoletto, Erinna König — will open, relating the past, present, and future. The socially active '68ers/'70ers Erinna Königs in Düsseldorf (past) are juxtaposed with the work of Michelangelo Pistoletto, which encompasses the present, the future, and the development of humanity.
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Archival material from the personal estate of Erinna König and the
Rheinischen Archiv für Künstlernachlässe RAK www.rak-bonn.de

Portrait, 1968
BEYOND, UP&CO @ EK STUDIO, Düsseldorf, 2025
Clip: Jan Höhe