Erwin Bechtold

Cologne, 1925 – Ibiza, 2022

Erwin Bechtold began his career as a typographer and graphic designer at his family’s printing house in Cologne. In 1954 he discovers Ibiza and finally settles on the island, in a geographical environment that influences his work centered on reductionism and constructivism.

In 1956 he comes into contact for the first time with the members of the El Paso group, one of the most important groups of artists for shaping the post-war Spanish avant-garde. In 1957 he moves to Berlin where he connects with German painters of his generation, and in 1959 he becomes the co-founder of the Ibiza 59 group, incorporating the island into the territory of the avant-garde.

After working in Fernand Léger’s workshop in Paris, he lives in Barcelona for a while, ​​where he establishes strong friendships with the members of the Dau al Set and Club 49 groups, and becomes one of the pioneers of Catalan abstraction. Professionally, Bechtold continues to work as a graphic designer and interior designer, which earned him a FAD award in 1961 thanks to his innovation in this field. In 1962 he is elected a member of the Mannheim Academy of Arts.

Between 1955 and 1958 his painting approaches informalism, making an abstract and material work that will continue until 1963. After his material stage, Bechtold plays with a more geometric scope and with a minimal and restrictive chromatic range.