Gerard Schäperkötter was trained as a graphic designer but switched to painting 1914. Taking a spontaneous and free approach to his medium, his early figurative works gradually made way for powerful compositions in the 1960s and 70s that balance between abstraction and figuration, and are reminiscent of the lyrical abstraction of the Ecole de Paris. Schäperkötter drew on his memories and imagination to fashion a new reality, often embodied in themes such as beaches, walls and gardens.