Michael Post

Mitglied des Vorstandes der AKM – Arbeitsgemeinschaft bildender Künstler am Mittelrhein e.V., Koblenz                   

Born in Wiesbaden in 1952, Michael Post grew up in his parents’ house with two sisters and a brother. At an early age he visited the Wiesbaden State Museum with his anthroposophically minded mother. Here he was particularly impressed by the work of the Russian painter Alexei Jawlensky, of whom this museum owns an important collection; at the center of his attention are the series of the suffering faces of Christ, reminiscent of icons, including the hopes of redemption articulated in them. An exhibition of the graphic series of Desastres de la Guerra by Francisco de Goya is also remembered.

In addition to his interest in abstract painting and OpArt, it is texts from the American underground and beatnik literature, such as Alan Ginsberg’s poem Howl, Jack Keroac’s On The Road, or William S. Burrough’s Naked Lunch, that touch him.

In the late sixties, friendly ties with his Latin teacher Burkhard Brunn and his partner, the artist Charlotte Posenenske, who was to become internationally known after her early death. Joint trip to London, a center of pop culture at the time. During a stopover in Antwerp, visit to the Wide White Space Gallery, where Post was first confronted with works by American Minimalists that would have a lasting impact on him. Among other things, Brunn introduced him to the epic theater of Berthold Brecht. The theme of power and violence, also discussed in this context, has since formed a recurring element of his artistic work.

Participation in political demonstrations of the peace movement and preoccupation with the problems of repressing the crimes of National Socialism in post-war Germany. The increasing readiness for violence on the side of corresponding groups of the political left irritates him and finds increasingly less his approval. Contact with circles in which the positions of the Frankfurt School were discussed. Theodor W. Adorno’s well-known remark “To write a poem after Ausschwitz is barbaric” referred to poetry, but for Post it also had relevance for the visual arts.
Inspired by the lifestyles of anarchists and hippies, Post traveled around the Mediterranean. Interested in black and white blues and various forms of crossover between blues, jazz, rock and classical music.

From 1972 studies painting at the Department of Design of the FHW and later University of Applied Sciences Rhein Main in Wiesbaden with the painter Robert Preyer, whose teaching is of formative importance for the development of the artist. Here he not only gains insight into the inherent logic of aesthetic processes, but also into corresponding forms of theoretical reflection. In early works he already positions himself in the context of Zero, Minimal Art and Concrete Art.
In the documenta V in Kassel in 1972, which he attended, Post sees one of the strongest impulses for his work to this day. The program of Individual Mythologies presented there by Harald Szeemann, the works of Concept Art, and the accompanying discourses of the professor of aesthetics Bazon Brock opened up new perspectives of aesthetic thought for him. Brock still holds significance for the artist today.

In 1976, after completing his art studies, he did community service in the nursing ward of an old people’s home. He then studies art history and journalism at the University of Mainz for a few semesters.

1981 to 1982 freelancer in the Wiesbaden gallery Harlekin Art of Ute and Michael Berger. Afterwards he worked in the exhibition technology department of the Wiesbaden State Museum. Technical director of the exhibition Fluxus 1962-1982. In this context encounters with artists such as Allan Kaprow, Joe Jones, George Brecht, Dick Higgins, Ulay and Abramovic, Fritz Schwegler, Peter Vogel, Michael Buthe, Robert Filliou and Dieter Krieg. Post begins to write texts about artists and exhibitions for the Wiesbadener Kurier, among others.

1979 first encounter with the sculptor and long-time friend and cooperation partner Heiner Thiel.
An important mentor for Post was the museum restorer and publicist Erich Gantzert-Castrillo, who gave him insights into the handling of artistic materials. Also worth mentioning is his friendly relationship with the theater director Hermann Kleinselbeck, now deceased, with whom he maintained an intensive exchange on art, culture and politics for years.

In 1986 Post married the architect Sabine Kresslein; their daughter Julia was born. Later the family moves from Wiesbaden to Ippenschied in the Hunsrück.

1992 Invitation of the artist by the student body of the Art History Institute of the University of Giessen to participate in a series of exhibitions initiated by the art historian and philosopher Gottfried Boehm. Post, who had already met the theorist a few years earlier, intensifies his examination of his writings.

2001 Residency scholarship at the Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral in Bad Ems, an institution of the Cultural Foundation of Rhineland-Palatinate.

2002 begins collaboration with the sculptor Heiner Thiel. Smaller collaborations develop into larger projects: joint works for institutions and public space are created. In the following years they show their works in solo and group exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, England, Hungary and the USA.

In 2005 Post wins the first prize of the sculpture competition Mörfelden-Walldorf near Frankfurt.

From 2006 for thirteen years member of the advisory board of the Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral.

2010 Post and Thiel found the self-publishing house Edition PT in order to be able to publish catalogs independently and at a reasonable price.

2012 joint planning of an exhibition series with artists working from different perspectives on the theme of the semi-plastic, colored form. The series – inspired by sculptor David Rabinowitch – is given the title: embodying color.

In 2013 embodying color was shown at the Kunsthalle Wiesbaden, in 2014 at the Vasarely Museum in Budapest, in 2018 at the gallery Imprints, Crest/Drôme France and in 2019 at the Museum-Wilhelm-Morgner, room Schroth, in Soest. Three catalogs will be published in the edition PT.

Since 2002, several trips of the artist with Heiner Thiel and his wife Eva to the U.S. on the occasion of joint exhibitions at the gallery Charlotte Jackson Fine Art in Santa Fe visiting collectors and excursions to the vast landscapes of the southwestern United States.