German conceptual artist Timm Ulrichs has died at age 86. His death on April 29 in Berlin was announced by the Kunstverein Hannover, where he was the oldest member. Ulrichs studied architecture before declaring himself a “total artist” in 1961, inspired by Kurt Schwitters. His provocative works included displaying himself as a living artwork in a glass case, running naked with a lightning rod, and spending hours inside a hollowed boulder. He also created concrete poetry, computer art, and copy art, and taught sculpture at the Kunstakademie Münster from 1972 to 2005. His work appeared in Documenta 6 and solo exhibitions at the Sprengel Museum Hannover and Kunstverein Hannover.
Ulrichs’s death marks the loss of a pioneering figure in German conceptual and action art. Though often overshadowed by contemporaries, his work anticipated many later artistic trends and remains relevant. His legacy as a boundary-breaking “total artist” who merged life and art continues to influence conceptual practice. The announcement by the Kunstverein Hannover underscores his deep ties to the Hanover art scene, where he lived and worked for much of his career.