Gerhard Vormwald (born 1948 Mannheim) died in Paris in 2016. He became first known
internationally in the 80's. With his surreal pictorial stagings and montages he visually
leverages gravity and our imagination even before the creation of Photoshop. In his montages
people float water eats up things dance in space to surreal choreographies. This book gives
an overview of his found and invented visual worlds - from early documentary images (On the
Road) to architectural montages (Concrete Illusions) image pairings (Blind Date Essentials)
surrealistic (Autonomy of Things) and negative (Black Light) alienated still lifes and a few of
the pictures of his advertising work. The poetic unrealization of the world which Vormwald
pursued with fervour proofs his cheerful lust for the absurd and mysterious. The reason why he
is almost forgotten today can be explained by his bulkiness and that his pictures cannot be
reduced to an easily recognizable trademark. It would certainly be worthwhile to dive even
deeper into his extensive archive for future publications and exhibitions!
