Georg Karl Pfahler

(German, 1926–2002)

Georg Karl Pfahler was a leading German painter known for his Hard-Edge abstractions. The artist dedicated his entire career to the investigation of the relationship between color, shape, and space, and was considered at the forefront of the Color Field movement. “In Pfahler's painting the color has both a displacing and a constitutive function, which bewilders and stimulates the observer to critical reflection,” Peter Beye once wrote of his work. Born in 1926, Pfahler studied at the Kunstakademie Stuttgart under Willi Baumeister, graduating in 1954. Initially working as a sculptor, it was Baumeister who encouraged Pfahler to focus on painting. Influenced by the tradition of European Art Informel, he quickly began to adopt an innovative abstract geometric painting style by the early 1960s. Pfahler continued to reduce his style even further to exclusively focus on the dynamic between shapes, and to examine the deeper relationships between space and color. By the mid 1960s, Pfahler had exhibited alongside artists such as Frank Stella, Ellsworth Kelly, and Kenneth Noland in shows such as “Signale” at the Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland. In 1966, Pfahler had his first show in the United States at Fischbach Gallery, curated by Barnett Newman. Pfahler went on to represent Germany alongside Gunther Uecker, Heinz Mack, and Kaspar Thomas Lenk at the Venice Biennale in 1970. In the decades that followed, Pfahler continued to experiment with the constraints and boundaries of painting. He died on January 6, 2002 in Emetzheim, Germany. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, among others.

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Georg Karl Pfahler Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Georg Karl Pfahler (710 results)
Untitled, 1959

Georg Karl Pfahler

Untitled, 1959

Sale Date: June 30, 2023

Auction Closed

SP.O.R. RECOND, 1964–1965

Georg Karl Pfahler

SP.O.R. RECOND, 1964–1965

Sale Date: June 22, 2023

Auction Closed

Fra Firenze (G) Nr. VIII a, 1987

Georg Karl Pfahler

Fra Firenze (G) Nr. VIII a, 1987

Sale Date: June 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Floridella Nr. 15, 1994

Georg Karl Pfahler

Floridella Nr. 15, 1994

Sale Date: June 6, 2023

Auction Closed

Espan Nr. 50, 1981

Georg Karl Pfahler

Espan Nr. 50, 1981

Sale Date: June 6, 2023

Auction Closed

Espan Nr. 43/III, 1981–1984

Georg Karl Pfahler

Espan Nr. 43/III, 1981–1984

Sale Date: June 6, 2023

Auction Closed

Espan Nr. 25 IV, 1978

Georg Karl Pfahler

Espan Nr. 25 IV, 1978

Sale Date: June 6, 2023

Auction Closed

S-BG, 1968

Georg Karl Pfahler

S-BG, 1968

Sale Date: June 6, 2023

Auction Closed

Espan-Midi Nr. 8/82, 1982

Georg Karl Pfahler

Espan-Midi Nr. 8/82, 1982

Sale Date: June 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Kapitän, 1963

Georg Karl Pfahler

Kapitän, 1963

Sale Date: June 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Spirit of Reality, Frol, 1962

Georg Karl Pfahler

Spirit of Reality, Frol, 1962

Sale Date: June 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Orlando IV, 1970–1971

Georg Karl Pfahler

Orlando IV, 1970–1971

Sale Date: June 2, 2023

Auction Closed

Zehn Serigrafien

Georg Karl Pfahler

Zehn Serigrafien

Sale Date: May 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Okaminka - Fra Firenze, 1987

Georg Karl Pfahler

Okaminka - Fra Firenze, 1987

Sale Date: April 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1984

Georg Karl Pfahler

Untitled, 1984

Sale Date: April 27, 2023

Auction Closed

DD - III R, 1967–1968

Georg Karl Pfahler

DD - III R, 1967–1968

Sale Date: March 30, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1960

Georg Karl Pfahler

Untitled, 1960

Sale Date: March 23, 2023

Auction Closed

farbraum-Relief, 1965

Georg Karl Pfahler

farbraum-Relief, 1965

Sale Date: March 2, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970

Georg Karl Pfahler

Untitled, 1970

Sale Date: February 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Two Plates, from Ost-West Transit (2 works), 1971

Georg Karl Pfahler

Two Plates, from Ost-West Transit (2 works), 1971

Sale Date: February 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Three Plates, from Ost-West Transit (3 works), 1971

Georg Karl Pfahler

Three Plates, from Ost-West Transit (3 works), 1971

Sale Date: February 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Four Plates, from Ost-West Transit (4 works), 1971

Georg Karl Pfahler

Four Plates, from Ost-West Transit (4 works), 1971

Sale Date: February 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Two Plates, from Ost-West Transit (2 works), 1971

Georg Karl Pfahler

Two Plates, from Ost-West Transit (2 works), 1971

Sale Date: February 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Two Plates, from Ost-West Transit (2 works), 1971

Georg Karl Pfahler

Two Plates, from Ost-West Transit (2 works), 1971

Sale Date: February 23, 2023

Auction Closed

English (US)

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