GROOTENS

Born 1954 in Uedem, Germany. · 1969 to 73 apprenticeship as glass and porcelain painter with Hein Derix in Kevelaer. · 1973 -81 travelled through Asia, South and Central America and the Middle East. · 1981 – 88 relocated to Munich. Participated in early worldmusic projects, recordings with eg. Karnataka College of Percussion, Embryo, Dissidenten. Resumed working with glass. First experimental pieces. · 1988 exams for master’s certificate.

Photo credits: Norbert Heyl.

Wilfried Grootens: German Master Glass Artist

Trained from the age of 15 as a glass and porcelain painter with Hein Derix in Kevelaer, where he also learned to restore antique stained glass windows, Wilfried Grootens received his Master Craftsman’s Diploma in Munich in 1988. In 1989 he opened his own studio in Kleve, Germany.

A Technique of Painted and Laminated Glass

Wilfried Grootens paints motifs on thin sheets of glass, which he stacks and laminates into cubes that are then cut and polished. Some series use up to 35 layers of glass. The painted dots and tendrils seem to float inside the block and are reflected on the faces of the cube, creating depth and optical illusions. Seen from the side, the fine painted lines seem to vanish.

An Award-Winning Artist: Wilfried Grootens

His work has received many awards: the State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2011, several Immenhäuser Glass Prizes (2003, 2009 and 2015), first prize for glass finishing at Glasstec in 2016 and, in 2023, the MANU FACTUM State Prize, shown at the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Cologne.

Discover the works of Wilfried Grootens at Galerie Le Cube Vernet in Avignon.