Hedi Mertens, 2023

The logic of intuition

The creative path of the painter Hedi Mertens (1893-1982) differs in many respects from that of other artists of her time. After a classical art education in Zurich and Munich, she moved primarily in intellectual milieus that brought her closer to the contemporary currents of Constructivist-Concrete art.
Among her most influential companions and interlocutors were Richard Paul Lohse, Leo Leuppi, Arend Fuhrmann and Helen Dahm, with whom she shared a deep fascination for the teachings of the Indian guru Shri Meher Baba.

At the age of 67, the artist moved to Ticino, where she finally let the numerous sources of inspiration flow into her own art. Within twenty years, around 200 geometric-abstract works were created, which urgently await an appropriate appreciation. This monograph, published on the occasion of exhibitions at the MASI Lugano and the Museum Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich, sheds light on the great oeuvre and the eventful life of Hedi Mertens and enables the rediscovery of a representative of Concrete Art in Switzerland who has fallen into oblivion.

In collaboration with MASI Lugano, Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich and Edizioni Casagrande, Bellinzona

Publisher: Scheidegger & Spiess
Language: German / Italian
23 x 30 cm, softcover
ISBN 978-3-03942-131-2

Members: CHF 43.00