Heinz Sevenich - Collection

During Crafoord Stockholm's visit and valuation at the home of the distinguished architect Heinz Sevenich in Aachen, western Germany, close to the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands, it quickly became clear that we were faced with an exceptional discovery, something out of the ordinary: a collection of extraordinary breadth and character.
Heinz Sevenich (1935–2023) was an enigma. Or more precisely: the quantity, breadth and quality of the artistic legacy he left behind struck his family with astonishment. His constantly flowing creativity was certainly evident and did not stop at paintings and sculptures. Everything from cigarette packets to branches from the forest was transformed into art objects, and his painterly imagination coloured both the walls and ceilings of the family home he had designed himself. And yet. The studio and workshop in the courtyard, and the room in the attic reached by a ladder, had been his private universe. To go through them now was a somewhat dizzying discovery – thousands of works of art. All meticulously archived. On the back of many works there was even a detailed drawing explaining how and with what intention it had been created.
Heinz Sevenich was born in 1935 in Aachen, western Germany. As a draughtsman and architect, he contributed significantly to the development of Aachen's urban landscape, including the innovative university hospital – one of the largest and most technically advanced in Europe – which in terms of style can be said to be related to the contemporary Centre Pompidou in Paris.
How he was simultaneously able to cultivate himself and be so productively advanced as an artist is quite fascinating. He had a burning passion for art's open field of imagination and the liberating force that lay beyond architecture's stricter regulations.
Travelling to large parts of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, often together with his wife Margret, provided constant inspiration. A journey to Cambodia through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India and Thailand made a particularly deep impression.
From that geography, parallels can be drawn to Heinz Sevenich's boundary-crossing explorations in his own creative practice, which elegantly navigated between varying styles, methods and materials. At different stages he worked with sculptures in wood, stone, plaster and mechanical parts; he created images in everything from oil, gouache and tempera to charcoal, ink, pencil and pastel; he experimented with various functional materials, produced collages, formulated formal analyses and created philosophical and literary works.
His talent and inventiveness were evident from an early age. He produced abstract works of art as a teenager. Held several patents. Made furniture and tools. Everywhere he saw opportunities to improve and beautify. Among much else, this resulted in a series of exhibitions, both solo and with the artist group Rhombus in Aachen.
In addition to his own works, Heinz Sevenich's collection encompasses ethnographic objects from his many travels. The combination of a ceaseless, exploratory creative drive and artistic excellence makes it unique. It is more than a collection. It is an artistic treasure.