Lothar Götz (b. 1963, Günzburg, Germany) is a contemporary artist renowned for his immersive, site-specific wall paintings and spatial installations. His practice occupies a distinctive position at the intersection of painting, architecture, and design, transforming both interior and exterior environments through the deployment of bold geometric forms and saturated color. Götz engages abstraction not merely as a visual strategy but as a transformative mechanism—altering perceptions of space, volume, and form through chromatic and structural intervention.
Götz’s educational background reflects the interdisciplinary scope of his work. He studied Visual Communication in Aachen (1983–88), followed by an MA in Aesthetics in Wuppertal (1991–95), and later completed a postgraduate MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art, London (1996–98). These formative experiences established a conceptual and formal foundation grounded in modernist traditions, particularly those of Bauhaus and Constructivism, while also fostering a highly intuitive and personal approach to color theory, spatial composition, and architectural response.
A salient example of his practice is the site-specific public-commission Capri, which encapsulates Götz’s ongoing inquiry into chromatic abstraction and architectural integration. As with many of his works, Capri synthesises the visual languages of modernist geometry with an emotional and perceptual exploration of color. The result is a spatially immersive experience that engages the viewer both physically and psychologically. Götz’s intervention does not simply adorn existing architecture—it reinterprets it, constructing an environment that reconfigures the viewer’s spatial awareness.
Over the past two decades, Götz has completed numerous major public commissions across the UK and Europe. Notable examples include Platform for Art at Piccadilly Circus Underground Station (2007), Composition for a Staircase at Pallant House Gallery (2016), Xanadu at Leeds Art Gallery (2017), and Dance Diagonal at Towner Eastbourne (2019). These projects typically begin with precise architectural drawings that evolve into dynamic chromatic environments—artworks that are not only seen but physically navigated. His interventions are deeply attuned to the context of each site, enabling a dialogue between color, surface, and spatial form.
Götz has exhibited extensively in both solo and group contexts, including at Gasworks and Chisenhale Gallery, London), Petra Rinck Gallery, Germany, Museum Goch, the Prague Triennale, and the Miró Foundation in Barcelona. His work continues to expand the possibilities of abstract art within architectural space, inviting viewers into immersive environments where geometry, color, and structure coalesce in unexpected and transformative ways.
In parallel with his artistic practice, Götz has made significant contributions to art education. He has taught at leading institutions including the Royal College of Art, the Ruskin School of Art (University of Oxford), and the Glasgow School of Art. Since 2018, he has served as Associate Professor in Fine Art at the University of Sunderland, where he continues to shape the next generation of artists engaging with the expanded field of contemporary abstraction.
Capri is commissioned and curated by Keith Whittle, in collaboration with the NGCA, with support from Arts Council North East and Sunderland ARC.
