The Light- and Object artist Adolf Luther from Krefeld (1912-1990) was one of the main representatives of kinetic art and optical art. The goal and purpose of the foundation, formed in 1989, is the development and support of research investigating the conceptual foundations of concrete art since the early 1950s.
At the same time, the artistic creation and the collection of the founder is to be maintained. The foundation is located in the artist’s former home and studio. It organizes exhibitions with the theme of concrete art. In addition, it awards a Development Prize for young artists, which carries a 5000 Euro stipend, an exhibition in the Krefeld Museum of Art and the purchase of one of the works.
Adolf Luther attempted to make the invisible visible and to grasp a reality that eludes sculptural capture and expression. As early as 1958, he dedicated himself to the investigation of light and its energetic-optical properties. With refraction and reflection they create a sort of immateriality. In 1967 a room with focused light in smoke is created, and beginning in 1970, he works with laser beams. In Adolf Luther’s mind the term ‘concrete art’ is concerned with extra-image phenomena such as light, space and motion. Adolf Luther said:” The concrete is nature itself”.
Since its creation, the foundation is directed full-time by Art Historian Dr. Magdalena Broska. In addition to Adolf Luther’s life-work, she maintains a collection of works by the Zero-Gruppe from Düsseldorf, by Nouveaux Réalistes, works by Marcel Duchamp, Joseph Beuys, Tapies, Ad Reinhardt and Mario Merz. An additional collection focus is the geometric abstraction of the 1920s and 1930s – Ella Bergmann-Michel, Henrik Berlewi, Theo van Doesburg, Lissitzky, Malewitsch, and Vordemberge-Gildewart. Part of the collection is on permanent loan in museums and thus accessible to the public. Purchases of works by young recipients of prizes and awards expand the collection, such as works by Andreas Slominski, Michel Verjux, Bethan Huws, Stephen Craig and Katja Strunz.
The foundation is responsible for restoration of the light – mirror works by Adolf Luthers.