Lothar Götz is known for his large-scale wall paintings and immersive architectural displays, characterised by the use of vividly coloured abstract geometrical forms, shapes and lines. Götz tends to create his murals by ‘breathing in’ the space, including its architecture, proportions and inconsistencies. He then translates these features into his own visual language, ensuring that his murals become integral to the psychology of the architecture. Strongly influenced by the idea of the ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ (a total work of art), Götz finds that his passion for theatre, architecture and choreography can be unified through his art.
Retreat for the Good Shepherd (2017) takes its imagery from an installation with the same title, realised by Götz in 2016 at The Collection, Lincoln. The Collection invited the artist to paint a mural inside a 1:1 scale reproduction of the Russell Chantry, a small chapel of Lincoln Cathedral. The murals adorning the chapel’s walls were dedicated to St. Blaise, the patron saint of the wool industry, and executed between 1953 and 1959 by Duncan Grant (1885-1978), a member of the famous Bloomsbury Group. Also this time Götz spent days in the original space, taking in its features, before creating his own temporary version of this sacred place for The Collection.
As the installation Retreat for the Good Shepherd was intended as a temporary piece to be deconstructed after its display, the acquisition of this painting allows The Collection to include a tangible piece in its collection that is representative of the commission. At the same time, the work complements The Collection’s existing holdings of sketches by Duncan Grant and enhances the collection of other contemporary commissions relating to Lincoln Cathedral.
