Paul Maenz’s introduction to art was certainly direct. At the age of 18 he studied as a graphic designer at a school whose approach was derived from the Bauhaus. In 1959 a visionary theatre was built opposite his parents’ house in Gelsenkirchen. It contained major commissions by Jean Tinguely and Yves Klein among others. Both the artists and a thousand blue sponges were on his doorstep. In 1970 he founded one of the most important galleries of contemporary art in Germany. It existed for twenty exceptionally successful years with a special focus on minimalism for its final ten years. Maenz has decided to give much of his collection to the city of Weimar for display in their museum. The remaining works in this auction, in Maenz’s words, represent ‘my own biography- aesthetic “headwaters.”’ He is parting with them for practical reasons: ‘These works were created for spaces, for dimensions, which I don’t have at my disposal. Accordingly, they have been packed and stored away for ten years now. I think they should come out in the open again where they can be viewed, studied and admired. Their language is international. And finally: possession without use cannot be the intention.’