Klaus Rinke

Klaus Rinke (born in Wattenscheid, 1939 – died 2026) was a German artist associated with the Düsseldorf scene. Trained as a decorative artist and poster painter in Gelsenkirchen, he studied painting at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen from 1957 to 1960. After working in studios in Paris and Reims, he gave up painting around 1965 and returned to Düsseldorf to devote himself to his water works and to what he called "primary demonstrations", which brought him into international exhibitions.

During the 1970s he organised performances and joint shows with Monika Baumgartl. From 1974 to 2004 he taught sculpture at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, and in 1980 he founded a "centre for contemplation" in Haan. He chaired the Malkasten artists' association from 1993 to 1998. His work appeared at documenta 5 and documenta 6 in Kassel and at the Venice Biennale, and in 2011 he had a solo exhibition at the Städel in Frankfurt.

In 2007 he moved from Haan to Neufelden, in Austria. He died in January 2026, aged 86, after a serious illness. His career shows how painting gave way, in his practice, to work in which action, water and the body held a central place.