| Alternative Name(s): | - |
| Date of Birth: | January 11, 1936 |
| Place of Birth: | Hamburg, Germany |
| Date of Death: | May 29, 1970 |
| Focus: | Sculptor |
| Art movement: | Minimalism, Post-Minimalism |
| Nationality: | American, German |
Famous Eva Hesse Artwork
Eva Hesse Biography
American artist Eva Hesse was born in Germany in 1936. In 1938 her family escaped Nazi Germany and moved to England, but then in 1939 her family emigrated to America and settled into New York City’s Manhattan.
Hesse graduated from New York’s School of Industrial Art in 1952, and then received a B.F.A. degree at Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1959 where she worked closely under Josef Albers.
Hesse returned home to New York after Yale, making new art friends, and also meeting and marrying sculptor Tom Doyle in 1961.
Hesse created her first three-dimensional piece in 1962 for the Art Students League of New York. In 1963, Hesse had a one-man show at the Allan Stone Gallery in the Upper East Side, of works on paper.
In 1965 Hesse began working in latex, fiberglass, and plastics – which became her defining work. Around the mid-60′s, Hesse was connected with the postminimal anti-form movement in sculpture, and was at the fore-front of moving from minimalism to postminimalism. She participated in exhibits like the Eccentric Abstraction,
Abstract Inflationism, and Stuffed Expressionism. She went on to have a one-man show titled Chain Polymers at the Fischbach Gallery in New York. In 1969, she had a large piece titled Expanded Expansion in the exhibit Anti-Illusion: Process/Materials.
In 1969, Hesse was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and she died in 1970 at the age of 34. She said in 1970, “my interest is in finding my own way.” People who knew Hesse say that she was extremely charismatic, and she remains unforgettable to this very day.