Erich Bödeker

Erich Bödeker (April 11, 1904 – February 21, 1971) was a German sculptor.

Life After attending elementary school, Bödeker worked as a miner for 41 years, 35 of which were spent underground. Alongside his main job, he also worked part-time as a farmer and butcher. In 1959, an illness with silicosis forced him to give up his job in mining. He then began to create self-taught figures out of wood and concrete, which he painted with bright colors. The motifs depicted included people and animals, including acquaintances, politicians, artists and fantasy figures.

Bödeker's first works were created from everyday and waste materials such as tin cans, kitchen utensils and disused machine parts. He later concentrated on figurative sculptures made of wood and concrete. His works are characterized by a stylized design reduced to basic forms. The use of color is bold and unmodulated, without internal detailing. Bödeker's garden often served as an exhibition space for over a hundred of these colorful figures, which depicted a wide variety of motifs - from miners, police officers and athletes to church dignitaries and animals from different regions of the world.

In 1963, Thomas Grochowiak, then director of the museums in Recklinghausen and Oberhausen, arranged Bödeker's first public exhibition in Recklinghausen. among others.

Other information In honor of the artist, the Erich Bödeker Society for Naive Art (Erich Bödeker-Gesellschaft für naive Kunst e.V.) was founded in 1982 in Hanover. The society not only documents Bödeker’s work but also promotes the recognition of so-called 'Naive Art' in general.

Erich Bödeker was a direct neighbor of Hape Kerkeling in his hometown of Bockholt. Kerkeling mentions him in his childhood memoir "Der Junge muss an die frische Luft" ("The Boy Needs Fresh Air").

Exhibitions (selection) 1963: Recklinghausen, Ruhrfestspiele 1964: Darmstadt, Mathildenhöhe 1965: Hamburg, Galerie Brockstedt 1967: Bonn, Municipal Art Collections 1968: Zurich, Galerie Bischofberger 1969: Essen, Museum Folkwang 1970: Oberhausen, Municipal Gallery 1971: Zagreb, Gallery of Primitive Art 1972: Humlebæk, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art 1973: Oslo, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter 1974: Munich, Haus der Kunst 1975: Kunsthaus Zürich 1976: Düsseldorf, Galerie Zimmer 1981: Stuttgart, Württembergischer Kunstverein 1982: Paris, Goethe-Institut 1983: Zagreb, Gallery of Primitive Art 1985: Siegburg, Wasserwerk. Galerie Lange 1986: Reinbek, Museum Rade 1987: Hanover, Sprengel Museum 1988: Hamburg, Altona Museum 1989: Düsseldorf, Galerie Zimmer 1990: Munich, Galerie Charlotte 1996: Bönnigheim, Museum Charlotte Zander 2000: Oberhausen, Ludwig Galerie 2001: Venice Biennale 2002: Cologne ArtCologne (Wasserwerk.Galerie Lange) 2016: Bönnigheim, Zander Collection 2017: Clemens Sels Museum Neuss