Ulfert Wilke
Encyclopedia
Ulfert Wilke was an internationally recognized painter, calligrapher and art collector connected to the abstract expressionism
movement. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1938. He is best known for his large canvas paintings and highly detailed lithographs that were inspired by calligraphic writing. Wilke was deeply intrigued by the written language, and much of his work was derived from his abstract interpretation of the shapes, colors and meanings of writing that he found in all languages and forms, including the poetry and ancient engravings of Asia
and the Middle East
. He was an avid art collector, particularly of tribal art
, and was the founding director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art
.
Wilke studied art at Harvard on a Carnegie scholarship before being drafted into the US Army in 1942. In 1947, he completed his Masters degree in Art at the University of Iowa
. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Wilke was an art teacher and director at several universities and museums. He received the Guggenheim Fellowship
twice (in 1959 and 1960), which he used to travel to work and study first in Munich
and Rome
, and later Kyoto
, Japan
where he lived in monastery and studied Japanese Zen
calligraphy
under the monks.
Wilke returned to the US in the 1960s. He lived in New York
at this time and worked as a professor at Rutgers University
. This period defined Wilke as an artist, and it was during this time that he became connected to the great New York school of artists of the 1950s and 1960s. He maintained close relationships with many famed artist colleagues including Ad Reinhardt
, Julius Bissier, George Rickey
, Mark Rothko
, Lyonel Feininger
, Max Beckmann
, Mark Tobey
, Kenzo Okada
, Robert Motherwell
and David Smith
.
In 1968, Wilke's reputation as an art collector earned him a position as founding director of the University of Iowa Art Museum. He served as museum director there until relocating to Hawaii in 1978.
Wilke had many solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally, and was awarded many honors, including an exhibition and award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. A few of the museums holding Wilke’s work in their collections today include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Chicago Art Institute, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Dayton Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, New York University Art Center, Philadelphia Museum, Museum of Tel Aviv, Honolulu Academy of Arts, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Stanford University Museum of Art.
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
movement. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1938. He is best known for his large canvas paintings and highly detailed lithographs that were inspired by calligraphic writing. Wilke was deeply intrigued by the written language, and much of his work was derived from his abstract interpretation of the shapes, colors and meanings of writing that he found in all languages and forms, including the poetry and ancient engravings of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. He was an avid art collector, particularly of tribal art
Tribal art
Tribal art is an umbrella term used to describe visual arts and material culture of indigenous peoples. Also known as Ethnographic art, or, controversially, Primitive Art, tribal arts have historically been collected by Western anthropologists, private collectors, and museums, particularly...
, and was the founding director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art
University of Iowa Museum of Art
The University of Iowa Museum of Art is a visual arts institution that is part of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, USA.-Introduction:The University of Iowa Museum of Art, established in 1969, has one of the top university art collections in the country...
.
Wilke studied art at Harvard on a Carnegie scholarship before being drafted into the US Army in 1942. In 1947, he completed his Masters degree in Art at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Wilke was an art teacher and director at several universities and museums. He received the Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
twice (in 1959 and 1960), which he used to travel to work and study first in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and later Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
where he lived in monastery and studied Japanese Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
under the monks.
Wilke returned to the US in the 1960s. He lived in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at this time and worked as a professor at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. This period defined Wilke as an artist, and it was during this time that he became connected to the great New York school of artists of the 1950s and 1960s. He maintained close relationships with many famed artist colleagues including Ad Reinhardt
Ad Reinhardt
Adolph Frederick Reinhardt was an Abstract painter active in New York beginning in the 1930s and continuing through the 1960s. He was a member of the American Abstract Artists and was a part of the movement centered around the Betty Parsons Gallery that became known as Abstract Expressionism...
, Julius Bissier, George Rickey
George Rickey
George Rickey was an American kinetic sculptor.Rickey was born on June 6, 1907 in South Bend, Indiana.-Life and work:...
, Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
, Lyonel Feininger
Lyonel Feininger
Lyonel Charles Feininger was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist.-Life and work:...
, Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement...
, Mark Tobey
Mark Tobey
Mark George Tobey was an American abstract expressionist painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. Widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe, Tobey is the most noted among the "mystical painters of the Northwest." Senior in age and experience, Tobey had a strong influence on the...
, Kenzo Okada
Kenzo Okada
Kenzo Okada was a Japanese-born American painter.According to Michelle Stuart, “when Okada came to the United States he was already a mature painter, well considered in his native Japan...
, Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
and David Smith
David Smith (sculptor)
David Roland Smith was an American Abstract Expressionist sculptor and painter, best known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures.-Biography:...
.
In 1968, Wilke's reputation as an art collector earned him a position as founding director of the University of Iowa Art Museum. He served as museum director there until relocating to Hawaii in 1978.
Wilke had many solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally, and was awarded many honors, including an exhibition and award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. A few of the museums holding Wilke’s work in their collections today include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Chicago Art Institute, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Dayton Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, New York University Art Center, Philadelphia Museum, Museum of Tel Aviv, Honolulu Academy of Arts, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Stanford University Museum of Art.