Aribert "Ari" Munzner (January 9, 1930 – August 1, 2025) was a German-American artist. He was an abstract painter.Connecting art and faith by Joanna Reiling Lindell, Thrivent magazine, Fall 2021
Early life (1930–1955) Munzner was born on January 9, 1930, in Mannheim, Baden, Germany, to Jewish parents. In 1937 his family fled Hitler's Germany to seek sanctuary with a family friend in Baghdad. They managed to procure visas to the US in 1939 because his father had been born in South Africa, and the quota for immigration from that country was not full, in contrast to Germany. They resettled first to New York City and then to Alton, New York.
He got a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) at Syracuse University in 1953 and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1955. The title of his MFA thesis was "Art Cannot be Taught".
Career (1955–1994) In 1955 Munzner became a professor at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), where he continued to teach fulltime until 1993. He also served in many administrative roles in his years at MCAD, ranging from slide librarian in the 1950sMid-Century Visions, Programmed Affinities: The Enduring Challenges of Image Classification by Diana Kamin Journal of Visual Culture, 16(3), pp 310–336 to dean of faculty in the 1990s.Profile of an artist by Jason Wolf, The Wedge, August 1997 In 1994, he became professor emeritus and retired from undergraduate teaching but continued to mentor graduate students. He fully retired from teaching in 2005, to devote his full time to painting. In 1988 he was awarded an Honorary MFA at that same institution.
He studied with photomicroscopist Roman Vishniac.A 90-year-old Minneapolis artist lost it all in a protest fire — he’s ready to start over By PJ Grisar, The Jewish Daily Forward, June 4, 2020 He embarked on his decades-long Genesis project which involved creating vibrant bursts of color resembling galaxies on canvas, and also encompassing monochromatic drawings with minimal elements that resemble magnified images of cells.His work ruined in rioting, a 90-year-old Minneapolis artist starts anew By Alicia Eler, Minneapolis Star Tribune June 10, 2020 He mentored many other artists including Hend al-MansourAlumni: Hend Al-Mansour Minneapolis College Of Art And DesignOn Topic: MFA Episode Three by Hend Al-Mansour, MCAD News & Press, Sep 29, 2020 and Leah Golberstein.
Munzner was a visiting artist at the following institutions: 1995: Saint Cloud State University 1982: North Carolina School of the Arts 1979: Kansas City Art Institute 1976: University of Minnesota Duluth 1974: Yale School of Art 1972: University of New Orleans 1970: Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
Later years On May 29, 2020, during riots in Minneapolis sparked by the murder of George Floyd, the Hexagon Bar was engulfed in flames. The fire spread next door to The Ivy, a century-old building that housed the studio of Aribert Munzner along with many other artists. Due to water damage, many works from his 60-year career, including much of the Genesis Project, were damaged.The Wisdom Project: Aribert Munzner, Moment Magazine, Summer 2022 Sizing up the catastrophic loss the ever optimistic Munzner said, "I’m starting again because that’s what I’ve been doing all my life," and then added, "Each moment is a magic moment".
Personal life and death Munzner died on August 1, 2025, at the age of 95.Aribert Paul Munzner (Ari) His daughter is computer scientist Tamara Munzner.
Selected exhibitions 2016: Contemporary Iconographies (two-person exhibition), Vine Arts Center Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2005: Abstract Painting in Minnesota, Selected Works from 1930 to Present (invitational group), Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN; Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul Minnesota 2005: California Building Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2002: Retrospective, MUM University Gallery, Fairfield, Iowa 1999: Dolly Fiterman Fine Arts Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota (also 1998, 1984, 1982, 1978) 1993: FISEA-Fourth International Symposium on Electronic Art (invitational group), Minneapolis College of Art and Design 1988: CRASH: ComputeR-AssiSted Hardcopy (invitational group), Wright Museum of Art, Beloit, Wisconsin 1987: Simulations/Dissimulations (invitational group), The School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1987: Intermedia Arts Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1985: Electronic Visions II (invitational group), Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 1984: Allvision, with Woody/Steina Vasulka, Science Museum of Minnesota 1982: New Acquisitions Gallery, Syracuse, New York 1982: North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (also 1978) 1979: Kansas City Art Institute, Foundation Division Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri 1977: St. Catherine College Gallery (two-person exhibition), St. Paul, Minnesota 1975: Retrospective, Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, Minnesota 1971: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1969: Northrop Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1968: Gilman Gallery, Chicago, Illinois 1965: The Little Gallery, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1954: Contemporary Arts Gallery (group show), New York City, New York
Books January 2000: Aribert Munzner: Teacher, Colleague, Artist, Minneapolis College of Art and Design Press, Aribert Munzner: Teacher, Colleague, Artist by MCAD Press, June 30, 2000
References
External links Aribert Munzner's home page The Mythology of Cosmology by Aribert Munzner [video]