April Exhibition
Michael Wagner, Josef Karl Merud, Thomas Niederreuther, Karl Squire
April 1954
“The north front of the Hofgarten-Arkaden, with its bevy of galleries, has become the Stoa Poikile of Munich in the sense of the ‘Changing Hall’ of classical Athens. In each of the well-kept salons one finds interesting things. There is for example in the Gallery Stenzel a ‘Picasso pupil’ with charming ceramic and enamel axes and paintings, for which he would not have needed Picasso as a teacher, in the Karin Hielscher Gallery, stimulating Sunday paintings by Jan von Weert, in the Stangl Gallery graphic art by Chagall, in the Wolfgang Gurlitt Gallery a collection of animal paintings by Adda Kesselkaul and graphic art by James Ensor, Oskar Kokoschka and Paula Modersohn, plus surprises such as a C. D. Friedrich and a neatly sparkling Feuerbach.
The Kunstverein shows amiable landscapes by L. W. Großmann, bold portraits by Thomas Niederreuther, figurative compositions by Michel Wagner in proud dialogue with the blue Picasso, austere graphic art by J. K. Nerud and poetic magic in hollowed and colored wood by Karl Knappe; and whether the Kunstverein is right to pay too much attention to uniformity instead of opening up its spatial and ideal possibilities to a more risk-taking service to the nerve of the time.” (Article by Peter Trumm, n.d.)
Fig.: From the Süddeutsche Zeitung of May 1./2., 1954.