Günter Lierschof

Günter Lierschof (born 31 August 1948 in Innsbruck) is a German artist and art theorist in the tradition of the "extended definition of art" and a former director of the Freie Kunstschule Hamburg, a branch of the Free International University.
==Background==
Until 1968, Lierschof studied at the "Höhere Technische Lehranstalt für Hochbau" in Innsbruck, before he went on to study at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg (1969-1975) under the supervision of, inter alia, Joseph Beuys, F. E. Walther, Bazon Brock, and Hilla Becher. Commissioned by Beuys, in 1980 he founded the Hamburg branch of the Free International University Art School in Hamburg, where he had also been a professor from 1980 through 1987. As of 1986, he was an art teacher at the Bischöfliches Gymnasium Paulinum in Schwaz, Tyrol, Austria, where he founded the Philosophicum.
Lierschof is member of the Tyrolean Artists' Association, the "politically independent union of fine artists" in the Austrian Federal State of Tyrol.
His work has been reviewed in several academic and artistic books and journals.Moritz Klenk (2020) Sprechendes Denken: Essays zu einer experimentellen Kulturwissenschaft; Richard Norz (2008) Die Kunst der Landwirtschaft: Landwirtschaft und Kunst von 1875 bis heute; Arnulf Rohsmann (1984) Manifestationsmöglichkeiten von Zeit in der bildenden Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts; and many more.
==Performances and Exhibitions==
In applying and further developing the Beuysian "extended definition of art", Lierschof has constantly been navigating and challenging the borderlines of art, science, and education. As a result, he is best know for his "lecture performances" such as Social Sculpture in Luhmann and Beuys – an unusual comparison, held at the Kassel-21 Social Sculpture Lab. A Global Lab for Joseph Beuys Centenary Celebrations.
Lierschof is also a well-known painter and caricaturist, often including his painting and sketches in his performances. Moreover, his installations such as on the Laws of the Everyday Life attracted attention in the international art-related media.
His social media avatars are Denkalarm and Domodossola.
On his blog, Luhmanns Schwarze Hefte (Luhmann's Black Notebooks), Lierschof publishes art-theoretical work in and against the tradition of Niklas Luhmann. He also published systems-theoretical and social philosophical books and essays.Ranging from Lierschof's 1978 book Sprachkörper (Bodies of language) to his chapter Zur Existenz des Todes (On the existence of death) in Kleve, H. et al. (2020) Lockdown: Das Anhalten der Welt. Debatte zur Domestizierung von Wirtschaft, Politik und Gesundheit. Heidelberg: Carl Auer.
===Selected exhibitions and performances===
* 1972: Junge Österreicher (Taxisgalerie, Innsbruck)
* 1975: Participation in the Internationale Malerwochen (Neue Galerie, Graz)
* 1976: Gespräch mit dem Baum (Produzentengalerie, Hamburg)
* 1978: Sprachkörper (Galerie Krinzinger, Innsbruck)
* 1987: Es geht nichts verloren (Galerie Zöhrer Schwaz)
* 1988: Die Braut sucht den Bräutigam in der Nacht (Kunsthalle 1, Innsbruck)
* 1990: Hans im Glück mit Braut (Stadtturmgalerie, Innsbruck)
* 1997: Bewerbungsgespräche - Kopf und Körper (Rabalderhaus, Schwaz)
* 1998: Judith und die Seife des Egger-Lienz (HTL Galerie, Innsbruck)
* 1999: Die Intelligenz des Malers (Universität Innsbuck)
* 2000: Matura 2000 (Rabalderhaus, Schwaz)
* 2006: Künstlerdialog 06 (Feuerwerk, Fügen)
* 2006: Tiere in der Kirche (Stift Fiecht, Tirol)
* 2021: Die Soziale Skulptur bei Luhmann und Beuys – ein ungewöhnlicher Vergleich (The Social Sculpture Lab, Kassel)
* 2021: Portraet (Otto Heinzl, Linz)
Category:German people
Category:German artists
Category:1948 births