About Imi Knoebel

Imi Knoebel (born 1940 in Dessau, Germany) is a leading figure in minimalist and abstract art, internationally recognized for his rigorous investigations into form, color, and material. Though he studied under Joseph Beuys at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Knoebel’s artistic trajectory was profoundly shaped by Kazimir Malevich, whose radical geometric abstraction and theories of Suprematism deeply influenced his practice.

Working across painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and large-scale installations, Imi Knoebel extends Malevich’s pursuit of “pure perception.” His artworks strip away narrative and external reference, focusing instead on essential forms and reductive uses of color. Knoebel once described his philosophy by saying: “When I am asked about what I think when I look at a painting, I can only answer that I don’t think at all; I look at it and can only take in the beauty.” This statement reflects his commitment to art as an autonomous visual experience, existing in its own right, free of interpretation or symbolism.

Knoebel is best known for working in series, developing minimalist compositions that rely on a strict vocabulary of geometric shapes. His restrained yet refined use of color is paired with an exploration of raw materials, including plywood, fiberboard, and aluminum, emphasizing both materiality and structural clarity. By highlighting the inherent properties of these mediums, his art achieves a balance of austerity and beauty that defines his contribution to postwar abstraction.

In addition to his paintings and installations, Imi Knoebel has produced an important body of limited edition prints. These works continue his exploration of geometry, space, and chromatic interplay, inviting collectors and viewers to engage directly with the fundamental elements of visual art. Highly collectible, Knoebel’s prints exemplify the artist’s ability to distill complexity into simple yet powerful compositions, securing his place as one of the most influential German artists of his generation.

Notable exhibitions

Imi Knoebel’s minimalist art has been celebrated in major institutional exhibitions worldwide, affirming his position as one of the most significant German artists of the postwar period. He gained early recognition in the 1960s as part of the Düsseldorf art scene, and by the 1970s his large-scale geometric works were being presented in key international group shows of abstraction and minimalism.

In 1972, Knoebel participated in documenta 5 in Kassel, a pivotal moment that introduced his radical approach to a global audience. He has since been featured in multiple iterations of documenta, further solidifying his international reputation. Major solo exhibitions followed at institutions such as the Haus der Kunst in Munich, the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, and the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

In 2009, the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin presented Ich Nicht, a landmark exhibition that showcased Knoebel’s exploration of form and color on an architectural scale. More recently, retrospectives at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg and the K20 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf have celebrated his decades-long contributions to minimalism and abstraction.

Knoebel’s artworks are also represented in leading museum collections, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and Tate Modern in London. These exhibitions and institutional holdings highlight his lasting impact on contemporary art, while his limited edition prints and paintings continue to attract collectors worldwide.