Ludwig Mannhalter is a Hungarian-born abstract painter, living and working in Bad Nauheim, Germany. His highly textured paintings are executed in the impasto style, which consists of applying thick layers of oil and acrylic paint, using only a palette knife. Added structure is conveyed through craquelure and occasional scratch marks from the spatula. In the tradition of tachiste artists, namely Nicolas de Staël, shapes are reduced to blocks of colors alluding to rudimentary landscapes and architectural views. Bold tones alternating with elegant grays and beiges fill rectangular chromatic fields of varying dimensions, creating a sense of dynamism and tension. Although influenced by Art Informel and the existential philosophy of Nietzsche, Mannhalter does not like to be boxed into a category and regards art as non-definable.

Mannhalter studied architecture in Budapest and later moved to Germany, where he runs his family’s leather business. He has been painting abstract art for the past fifty years. His work has recently been exhibited at the RheinMain CongressCenter and the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden and will soon be on display at Danubius Hotel Gellert, in Budapest.