| Hartmut Ritzerfeld | |
| Birth Place: | Büsbach |
| Birth Date: | 7 October 1950 |
| Death Place: | Büsbach |
| Education: | Kunstakademie Düsseldorf |
| Occupation: | Painter |
Hartmut "Hacky" Ritzerfeld (7 October 1950 – 1 January 2024) was a German painter of neo-expressive figurative images.
Born in Büsbach, Ritzerfeld initially trained as a window dresser from 1965 to 1968 before studying at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1969 to 1976 with Joseph Beuys (painting, object and performance art) and (stage design). In 1975 he became a master student of Joseph Beuys. This was followed by a study visit to Zurich. He then lived briefly in Aachen before moving back to his parents' house in Stolberg.
Ritzerfeld made his first 'artistic attempts' in the style of the Vienna School of fantastic realism in 1968; The model was the Viennese painter Ernst Fuchs. Shortly afterwards he turned to expressionism; with some of his favourite subjects being portraits, landscapes, and interiors. As a 20-year-old he was able to see Beuys on television; an initial spark that prompted Ritzerfeld to become interested in his works. In the very first year of his “Beuys period” he turned around to the classical style of the Düsseldorf School of painting, with Andreas Achenbach being particularly influential. Through the metaphysical painting of Carlo Carrà and the naive peasant painting of Mirko Virius, he finally arrived at painting with an organic purpose. He increasingly favoured architectural painting: “I painted what was going on in a city around me and tried to make this visible through abstract forms.” Thereafter he found his own “grammar”, which is more precise in its image structure than that of the Neue Wilde.
From 1994, Ritzerfeld had a shared studio with his fellow artist, first in Breinig, then in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum and since 2012 in Stolberg-Büsbach (European Art Court). Ritzerfeld's work is represented in numerous collections and museums including in the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum in Aachen, which, among other things, received the collection of with numerous pictures by Ritzerfeld as a donation in 2006.
Ritzerfeld, along with as well as and, was one of the founders of the group.
Ritzerfeld was hit by a car in Büsbach in early December 2023. In the traffic accident he suffered a laceration to his head, a traumatic brain injury, and a fractured pelvis.[1] He died from his injuries on 1 January 2024, in .[2] [3] [4] He was 73.
Works by Hartmut Ritzerfeld have been shown in numerous exhibitions, especially in Germany: