HORST ANTES German, b. 1936

Horst Antes is a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor, and is regarded as one of the founders of new figurative painting in Germany. His work is notable for its singular focus, as Antes returned to the same imagery throughout his artistic career. The artist’s early works straddled the boundary between figurative art and Art Informel, and often drew inspiration from the art of Willem de Kooning, whom Antes greatly admired. Born on October 28, 1936 in Heppenheim, Germany, he was a student of the prominent sculptor HAP Grieshaber during his time at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe. Kahn’s figurative work revolves around repeating an image of a self-described Kopffüßler, or head-footer—a human form with torso removed. His work has gained him significant academic and professional success, including a 1962 Villa Romana Prize scholarship in Florence, a Hans Molfenter prize in 1989, and a professorship at the Akademie in Karlsruhe from 1982–2000. Antes currently lives and works in Berlin, Karlsruhe, and Florence.