HERMANN FOCKE STUDIO POTTERY VASE FORM Nr. 233 (W. GERMANY)

Highly textured, smoky blue studio-pottery vase by the German sculptor, draftsman, and painter Hermann Focke. HERMANN FOCKE (1924–2020) was primarily known for his sculptural works in bronze and manipulated paper, as well as for his geometric abstract watercolor paintings. He was born in the small town of Metelen, roughly 10 km from the Dutch border in northwest Germany, and grew up in humble circumstances as one of nine siblings. During WWII, at the age of 14, he went to work in a weaving mill, and four years later, at 18, was drafted into the Wehrmacht. He was taken prisoner by the Russians shortly after and was finally released in 1947. Focke soon began his artistic career as an apprentice in the Erkelenz studio of sculptor Peter Haak (1912–1983) outside of Dusseldorf. He then formally studied at the Applied Arts Academy in Muenster from 1950 to 1953 under sculptor Kurt Schwippert (1903–1983) and artist and pedagogue Hugo Kuekelhaus (1900–1984). Continuing his education at the Acad