Passionate and unconventional: HAP Grieshaber (1909-1981) stands among the most remarkable artists of the German post‑war period. Approximation was not his way—neither esthetically nor politically. “I want to have addressed the major topics of humanity,” the artist declared. Shaped by social upheaval, his woodcuts strike at the heart of the time. In this medium, Grieshaber takes a stand: black or white, existence or non-existence, matter or emptiness. Trained as a typographer and graphic artist, he initially drew on expressionist woodcut traditions, also reaching back to its origins in Old German art. He revolutionized the woodcut with his technique and expanded it into largescale formats, developing an unmistakable pictorial idiom that moves between dense, figurative forms and abstract representations. Remarkably, he drew gentle and almost lyrical nuances from the rigid and angular woodblock.
With “Incision | Expression,” Forum Würth Arlesheim presents the first solo exhibition in Switzerland dedicated to Grieshaber from the Würth Collection. On view are selected works (woodcuts, paintings, publications, posters, and photographs) from the 1960s to the 1980s, including significant series such as “Totentanz von Basel” (Basel’s Dance of Death) and “Osterritt” (Ride at Easter). The exhibition highlights his socio‑political works, his musically and lyrically inspired pieces, as well as some of the artist’s pictorial letters and a series of self‑portraits. It reveals how the “incision” in Grieshaber’s art is both a formative gesture and an attitude—a pointed expression that moves between protest, poetry and spiritual depth. In addition, an interactive space, the “HAP Lab” offers opportunities for individual engagement with the artist and his work.

Website
kunst.wuerth-ag.ch/de/wuerth_forum/aktuell/kommende_ausstellungen/HAPGrieshaber

Where
Museum Forum Würth Arlesheim
Dornwydenweg 11
4144 Arlesheim

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