#012: Michael Buthe

Michael Buthe

Michael & Eleonore Stoffel Foundation – nw9, Cologne
March 29, 2026 - October 16, 2026

From March to October 2026, the Cologne project space nw9 presents nine works by Michael Buthe (1944–1994), one of the most distinctive artists of the German post-war avant-garde. Paintings, collages and large-scale objects from 1978 to 1992 come primarily from private Cologne collections, complemented by a loan from the Michael & Eleonore Stoffel Foundation.

At the heart of the exhibition is the collage “Ragtime (Musik)” (1978), in which silver and gold foil, toothpicks and oil paint merge into a vibrant, pulsating composition. An untitled 1981 object made from wood, a broom, a doormat and leaves was previously shown at documenta 7. “Radio Morte Maekk Maekk,” on loan from the Stoffel Foundation, combines wood, feathers, palm leaves, metal and light in a characteristic interplay of found object, ritual and installation.

Buthe studied under Joseph Beuys at the Düsseldorf Art Academy and gained international recognition in 1969 through Harald Szeemann’s legendary exhibition “When Attitudes Become Form.” He went on to participate in documenta 5, 6 and 7, as well as exhibitions alongside artists such as Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter and Rosemarie Trockel. From the 1970s onward, his travels to Morocco and the Middle East expanded his visual language: European and North African traditions, Christian and Muslim narratives, natural materials and everyday found objects converge directly in his work.

“I love life. The most astonishing thing of all is life,” Buthe said in 1977. His spontaneous, intuitive approach defines a body of work that resists easy categorization—and is now represented in collections including the Tate, Centre Pompidou, Museum Ludwig and MoMA.

With this exhibition, nw9 continues its engagement with influential yet long-underestimated positions in recent art history.