Manfred W. Jürgens
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Manfred W. Jürgens (* November 19, 1956 in Mecklenburg, Germany) is a German painter and photographer, a representative of the New Realism.
[edit] Life and work
Jürgens spent his childhood and youth in Mecklenburg in northeastern Germany. After attending the Polytechnical Secondary School he was an apprentice seaman (1973 - 1975) at the Deutsche Seereederei Rostock, which allowed him to travel to Sweden, the Netherlands and Cuba in his youth. An apprenticeship and employment as painter and glazier in Mecklenburg followed from 1976 to 1986.
From 1986 to 1989, Jürgens studied communication design at the College for Advertisement and Design in Berlin and specialised in scientific design and photography. There his style was influenced by Photography Professor Manfred Paul. After completing his studies, he began working as a communication designer for Prof. Dr. Daathe at the Zoological Garden Berlin (1989 - 1990) and as a cultural manager in Mecklenburg (1990 - 1993). Since 1993, Jürgens has worked as a free-lance painter and photographer.
Beginning in 1997, Jürgens made long journeys to England, Ireland, Italy, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Since 2002, he has made working tours to Venice. Jürgens' first exhibition of paintings took place in the Municipal Gallery Baumhaus in Wismar in 2001. Since then, he has had shows in Kühlungsborn, Güstrow, Hamburg, Leipzig and Venice.
Jürgens is married for the second time. Since 2007 he and his wife, coastal engineer Bärbel Koppe, have been living in Hamburg.
[edit] Citation
- "I can only set a functionalism, a powerful silent against today's inflation of pictures. I believe that it is the attraction of the direct view which enables insights into the soul. When colour becomes not only skin, cloth, water and sky but also soul, then I have overcome the empty panel."
