From 8 February to 7 June 2026, the Emil Schumacher Museum in Hagen, in cooperation with the Archiv Geiger, Munich, presents the solo exhibition “FARBE – LICHT – ENERGIE” by painter Rupprecht Geiger. Around 70 works from all phases of the artist’s career provide insight into his lifelong engagement with color, light, and geometric forms, and create a previously unseen dialogue with Emil Schumacher, two key figures of post-1945 non-representational art.
Image above: Rupprecht Geiger, Pinc moduliert, 2005, Acryl auf Holz, 100 x 100 cm, WVZ 944, Archiv Geiger, München, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025, Foto: Andreas Pauly, München
The exhibition highlights the differing approaches of the two artists: Geiger with the clarity of pure color, Schumacher with expressive gestures. Innovative and ahead of his time, Geiger significantly shaped the art of the second half of the 20th century. Moving away from representational forms was both a conscious choice and a guiding principle. Color remained the central theme of his work, explored through the radical reduction of the support to simple geometric forms, achieving the effect of pure color like no other, and pioneering the use of fluorescent pigments.
His lifelong engagement with form and color, particularly red, brought him international recognition and awards, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Prize, New York (1959), and the Rubens Prize, Siegen (1992). He participated in all major art biennales, from Kassel to São Paulo. As he stated: “Red is life, energy, potency, power, love, warmth, strength. Red makes you high.” (Rupprecht Geiger, 1975)
Early travel journals with detailed landscape watercolors, vibrant gouaches, rarely exhibited graphite drawings, and iconic color fields demonstrate his unwavering focus on radiant color. As co-founder of the ZEN 49 group and a central figure of abstract art in West Germany after 1945, Geiger shaped public spaces in cities, e.g., Gerundetes Blau at the Gasteig Cultural Center, Munich (1987, currently at interim site Sendling “Gasteig HP 8”), and Three-Part Wall Design at Ruhr University, Bochum (1975).
“With this exhibition at Emil Schumacher Museum Hagen, we show how varied expression in non-representational art can be; the difference between Geiger’s and Schumacher’s approach could not be greater,” says Rouven Lotz, museum director. Julia Geiger, the artist’s granddaughter and head of Archiv Geiger since 2010, adds: “It is exciting to see my grandfather’s works in this space. Geiger and Schumacher greatly respected each other and even exchanged works. This exhibition brings the artists closer together and highlights the diversity of 20th-century abstract art.”
The exhibition presents works from all periods: landscapes and still lifes from journals, early gouaches with Mediterranean cityscapes, rarely seen graphite drawings, and characteristic vibrant color modulations. Curated by Julia Geiger and Rouven Lotz, the show is accompanied by an extensive programme. A catalogue with texts by Siegfried Gohr and Daniel Zamani and a foreword by Julia Geiger and Rouven Lotz will be published in parallel.
WHEN?
Exhibition date: Saturday, 8 February 2026 – Sunday, 7 June 2026
Opening: Sunday, 8 February 2026, 11:00 am
WHERE?
Emil Schumacher Museum
Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 124
58095 Hagen
COST?
Admission: regular €8 / reduced €5
