Mary Bauermeister

Early training and influences

From the mid-1950s, Mary Baumeister studied at the University of Design in Ulm under Max Bill and at the State School for Art and Design in Saarbücken under Otto Steiner. During their annual stay in Paris, she became acquainted with Nouveau Réalisme artists such as Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely. In 1992, Bauermeister had her first solo exhibition in Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum. The art trends in the USA at the time fascinated her and so that same year she moved to New York where she soon registered great success.

Success in New York

Mary Baumeister exhibited regularly in the Galeria Bonino and made friends with pioneers of Pop Art such as Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. She returned to Germany in the early 1970s and concentrated increasingly on geometry, water surfaces, crystals and prisms in her work, and in doing so, designed numerous pleasure and meditation gardens for public and private commissions. 

Significance and awards

Mary Baumeister is considered one of the most important female German artists of our time with her works exhibited in many exhibitions and solo shows. Honours such as the German Federal Cross of Merit First Class (2020) and the Kunstpreis of North Rhine Westphalia (2021) document her position as an important artist.

Museums and institutions where Mary Baumeister’s works are represented

Mary Baumeister’s works can be found in many museums and institutions worldwide

Europe:

• LVR Landesmuseum in Bonn
• Museum Ludwig in Cologne
• Museum Fluxus+ in Potsdam
• Staatliches Museum Schwerin/Ludwigslust/Güstrow

North America:

• Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, USA
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, USA
• Museum of Modern Art in New York, USA