christian berstart brut
présente
SearchClose christian berstart brut
MenuClose
friedrich schröder-sonnenstern - © photo: dietmar bührer, christian berst — art brut
Date 1892 — 1982
Country Lithuania

Friedrich Schröder-Sonnenstern was born on the German-Russian border and received little education. As a child, accusations of theft and subsequent threatening behavior led to his being sent to a series of reform schools and ultimately to an asylum. These experiences gave him a lifelong hatred of authority. After a number of menial jobs, including time spent in the army, in a circus and as a fortune-teller, Schröder-Sonnenstern became ill, and eventually became bed-ridden. He turned to painting and drawing, having been introduced to art during a short spell in prison at an earlier period in his life.

Using coloured pencil over thin washes of paint to achieve depth, Schröder-Sonnenstern depicted a colourful series of grotesque caricatures, flat distorted figures and partly recognizable monsters and animals, all drawn with a crisp fine line. An overwhelming feeling of menace and sadistic subversion characterizes all of Schröder-Sonnenstern’s work: the grotesques inhabit a sinister and sexually charged mythical world. There is a sense of authority being undermined. In the 1960s Schröder-Sonnenstern exhibited his work and gained some notoriety as an artist. 

Artworks
Please contact us to inquire about the available works.
untitled - © christian berst — art brut
untitled, 1961
20.08 x 28.74 in
Ascension of the Devil - © christian berst — art brut
Ascension of the Devil, 1959
19.69 x 28.35 in
untitled - © christian berst — art brut
untitled, 1958
19.69 x 28.74 in
Catalog
preTENse
Catalogue published to mark the exhibition *preTENse*, christian berst art brut, Paris, 2015. - © christian berst — art brut

Preface : Stéphane Corréard
Foreword : Christian Berst
Catalog published to mark the exhibition preTENse, from September 12th to October 10th, 2015.

Exhibitions
Culturas Paralelas:
works from the treger saint silvestre collection, Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto, Portugal. From February 17 to April 22, 2023.
Double
Art Brut in the Giacosa-Ferraiuolo collection, Rome. From September 25, 2021 to January 30, 2022.
Sereno variavel
curated by Antonia Gaeta, Centro de Arte Oliva, São João da Madeira. From October 31, 2020 to May 2, 2021.
Sexual Personae
curated by Alison M. Gingeras, Hôtel Drouot, Paris. From October 21 to 29, 2020.
À deux
by Gustavo Giacosa, galerie Zola, Aix-en-Provence. From January 17 to March 7, 2020.
View more
Travel memories
Antoine de Galbert collection, musée de Grenoble. From April 27 to July 28, 2019.
Extravaganza
Treger Saint-Silvestre Collection, Centro de Arte Oliva, Portugal. From April 13 to September 15, 2019.
L’envol
Maison Rouge, Paris. From June 16 to October 28, 2018.
Histories of violence
a dialogue between the works of the treger saint silvestre collection, Núcleo de arte da oliva, Portugal. From April 14, 2018 to February 28, 2019.
3rd Biennale de l’Art Brut
Bodies, Lausanne, Suisse . From November 17, 2017 to April 29, 2018.
Art Brut
A Story of Individual Mythologies, Treger Saint Silvestre Collection, Portugal. From January 1 to February 26, 2017.
Carambolages
by Jean-Hubert Martin, Grand Palais, Paris. From March 2 to July 4, 2016.
PreTENse
at the Gallery. From September 12 to October 10, 2015.
I’m a Beautiful monster
works from Treger-Saint Silvestre collection, Oliva Creative Factory, Portugal. From July 17 to August 28, 2015.
art brut masterpieces and discoveries
carte blanche à bruno decharme, at the gallery. From October 21 to November 29, 2014.
Art brut: breaking the boundaries
curator Christian Berst, Oliva Creative Factory, Sao Joao da Madeira, Portugal. From June 1 to September 11, 2014.
il palazzo enciclopedico, Venice Bienale #55
curator Massimiliano Gioni, Arsenale. From May 29 to July 28, 2013.
Amicalement brut
Collection Eternod & Mermod, Musée d'Art Contemporain et d'Art Brut, Lille. From April 9 to August 28, 2011.
art paris 2010
From March 18 to 22, 2010.
exhibition view of *historias de la violencia*, curator: gustavo giacosa, oliva creative factory, sao joao da madeira, 2018. - © oliva creative factory, christian berst — art brut
Exhibition view of *art brut - collection abcd / Bruno Decharme*, la Maison Rouge, Paris, 2015. - © la Maison Rouge, christian berst — art brut
Press review
l’envolée de l’art brut
éric Tariant, Le Temps. November 13, 2017.
La beauté brute à Sao Joao
Roxana Azimi, M-Le Monde. October 6, 2014.
Collections
Musée national d’art moderne (Pompidou)
France
Antoine Frérot collection
France
abcd / Bruno Decharme collection
France
Treger Saint Silvestre collection
Portugal
Antoine de Galbert collection
France
View more
Hervé Lancelin collection
Luxembourg
Arnulf Rainer collection
Austria
Anthony Petullo Collection
United States
Friedrich Schröder-Sonnenstern

You are using an outdated browser.
Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.