ROTRAUT

Rotraut Klein-Moquay, known by her mononym Rotraut, is a German-French visual artist whose lively and intuitive forms – recurrent in both her paintings and sculpture – interpret the universal intelligence for the human eye.  

Born in Rerik, Germany in 1938, Rotraut began creating artwork in her youth, inspired by her natural surroundings. She received early training and guidance from her brother, Günther Uecker, who at the time was an active member of the ZERO art movement.

Rotraut’s practice evolved as she moved to Nice, France in 1957, where she worked as an au pair for the family of the artist Arman. In the ensuing years, Rotraut was deeply connected to the artistic movements taking hold in Western Europe and New York. It was during this time that she created the first of her “Galaxies” paintings and perfected the craft of her forms, referred to by curator Klaus Ottmann as “symbols of the ‘collective unconsciousness’” and by art historian Julia Friedman as “mediumistic.” Rotraut’s work was exhibited for the first time in Nice in 1958, and a public exhibition at New Visions Centre Gallery in London, England followed in 1959.

It was also during this time that Rotraut met the artist Yves Klein, with whom she explored the concepts of cosmic energy and immaterial sensibility in art. They also collaborated on works, including Klein’s famed Anthropométries series. The two married in 1962. After Klein’s untimely death at the age of 34, Rotraut established the Yves Klein Archives in Paris.

Rotraut later settled in Paradise Valley, Arizona, where she maintains her primary studio practice. In Arizona, she began the prolific creation of her large-scale, boldly colored sculptures, which give volume to her forms. Her sculpture has been widely exhibited, including in Saint Tropez, France, Lugano, Switzerland and, most recently, the Desert Botanical Gardens in Arizona.

Rotraut has participated in dozens of solo and group exhibitions throughout her career. Her work is represented in numerous public collections, including the Centre Pompidou in France, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, and the Phoenix Art Museum in the United States, as well as private collections in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

EXHIBITION HISTORY

2023 “15-Year Anniversary Exhibition,” Leonard Tourne Gallery, New York, NY
2023 "60th Anniversary Exhibition," Yares, New York, NY 
2022 – 2023 “Playing with Stars, Rotraut at the Desert Botanical Garden,” Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
2020 “Le Ciel Comme Atelier,” Centre Pompidou Metz, Metz, France
2018/19 "The Moon: From Inner Worlds to Outer Space,” Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark
2016 "Rotraut Chants Quantiques," Université Friedrich-Schiller, Jena, Germany
2016 "Rotraut: Sculptures Monumentales," Galerie Stefan Vogdt, Munich, Germany
2015 "Rotraut,” Guy Pieters Gallery, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
2015 “Rotraut - Let's Dance,” 45 Park Lane, London, England
2014 "Rotraut,” Galerie Gmurzynska, Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland - Miami, Florida
2013 "Sculptures,” group exhibition, Villa Datris, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France
2013 “Small Reliefs and Paintings,” Galerie Gmurzynska, Zurich, Switzerland
2012 "Women Artists, Muses & Models,” Château de Chamerolles, Chilleurs-aux-Bois, France
2012 "Yves Klein Judo Theater Body Vision,” Palazzo Ducale, Genova, Italy
2011 "The Color is First,” MAMAC, Nice, France
2011 "Rotraut: 28 Monumental Sculptures to the Rhythm of the Four Seasons,” Bordeaux, France
2010 "Art in the Park,” Hôtel Baur au Lac, Zurich, Switzerland 2009 "Yves Klein & Rotraut,” Museum of Art, Lugano, Switzerland
2010 "Art in the Park,” Hôtel Baur au Lac, Zurich, Switzerland
2010 "The Attraction of Space,” Musée d'art Moderne, Saint-Étienne, France
2008 “Art in the Sky,” Guy Pieters Gallery, Saint-Paul de Vence, France
2007 "Rotraut Monumental Sculptures,” Château Sainte-Roseline, Les Arcs-sur-Argens, France
2007 "Art is an Idea,” Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Scottsdale, Arizona
2007 "The Night in White,” Gardens of Sabatini, Palacio Real, Madrid, Spain
2005 "Rotraut: Sculptures, Parcours,” Kulm Golf Club, Saint Moritz, Switzerland
2004 "Rotraut,” Château d'Arsac, France
2004 "Rotraut Earth Dance Cosmos,” Annandale Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2003 "The Conquest of the Air, an Adventure in 20th-Century Art,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece
2001 "Rotraut Miraculous Life-Forms,” Coral Springs Museum, Coral Springs, Florida
2000 "Rotraut & Jane Manus,” Galerie Françoise et E.S.F., Lutherville, Maryland
2000 "Cosmos of Romance and the Avant-Garde," group exhibition, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy
2000 “Cosmos of Romance and the Avant-Garde," group exhibition, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Montreal, Canada
1998 "Warriors Sculptures,” Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne, Germany
1997 “Art and Public Place,” Ann Norton Sculpture Garden, West Palm Beach, Florida
1996 "Exposition of Being,” Galerie Piltzer, group exhibition, Paris, France
1994 "The Art of Images in France,” Shoto Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
1994 "The Art of Images in France,” Museum of Modern Art, Akita, Japan
1993 Biennale of Sculptures, Monte-Carlo, Monaco
1992 "Memories / Realities,” Arizona State University Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
1992 "Homage to Karl Flinker,” group exhibition, Salon de Montrouge, Montrouge, France
1992 "Tondo Today,” group exhibition, Cultural Center of Yonne, Auxerre, France
1991 "Contemporary Diversity in Europe,” group exhibition, Galerie 1900-2000, Paris, France
1990 "Rotraut, The Desert Vision,” Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
1990 "Nice and the Art of the 60s,” Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Nice, France
1989 "30 Years of Paintings,” group exhibition, Kaibundo Gallery, Kobe, Japan
1988 "Gold and Its Myth,” Grand Palace, Paris, France
1987 Chicago Art Fair, Chicago, IL, USA
1977 "With Regard to Nice,” group exhibition, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
1976 "Rotraut,” Antwerp Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
1976 “Rotraut,” UNESCO, Paris, France
1975 "Rotraut Klein-Moquay,” Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld, Germany
1975 Group Exhibition, Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris, France
1973 Group Exhibition, Carl Van Der Voort, Ibiza, Spain
1964 Solo Exhibition, Galerie Amstel 47, Amsterdam, Holland
1960 Festival d’Art Avant-Garde, Porte de Versailles, Paris, France
1958 Solo Exhibition, New Visions Centre Gallery, London, UK
1957 Group Exhibition, Laboratoire 32, Nice, France