Konrad Fischer: The Radical Gallerist Who Championed Minimal and Conceptual Art

Konrad Fischer, born Konrad Lueg, was a German artist turned gallerist who became a pivotal figure in the promotion of Minimal Art and Conceptual Art. In 1963, he co-organized with Gerhard Richter the exhibition "Leben mit Pop – Eine Demonstration für den kapitalistischen Realismus" at the Düsseldorf furniture store Berges. Fischer opened his gallery in 1967 in Düsseldorf, initially called "Ausstellungen bei Konrad Fischer," with a show of Carl Andre's "5 × 20 Altstadt Rectangles" in a 15-square-meter space. He introduced European audiences to key American artists such as Richard Long, Sol LeWitt, and Bruce Nauman. In 1969, Fischer co-curated with Harald Szeemann the landmark exhibition "When Attitudes Become Form" at the Kunsthalle Bern, which caused scandal and acclaim. Fischer also co-founded Sperone Westwater Fischer in New York in 1975 but left in 1982. After his death in 1996, his wife Dorothee ran the gallery until her death in 2015, when their daughter Berta Fischer took over. The gallery continues in Düsseldorf and Berlin, with pop-up projects in New York. In 2024, parts of the Fischer collection and archive were transferred to the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen.