Franz Gertsch
Franz Gertsch, born March 8, 1930, in a village on Lake Biel/Bienne, is numbered among the most significant contemporary artists in Switzerland. During the late 1960s, Gertsch began painting his large format hyperrealistic portraits, which resemble high-resolution photographs.
He celebrated his international breakthrough when his work was shown at the art exhibition; documenta 5 in Kassel, Germany, in 1972. He went on to paint a series of portraits of the US singer and poet; Patti Smith.
Today, his works are held in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Kunstmuseum Lucerne in Switzerland, and the Museum Franz Gertsch, which was built in the town of Burgdorf, Switzerland, in honor of his career.
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