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Horst Lerche, born in 1938 in Hamburg, was fascinated by color theory and spatial design from an early age. After studying at the renowned Düsseldorf Art Academy, he began painting landscapes on canvas, often represented through simple form symbols. Even then, his colors were not true to nature and often stood in a different relationship - namely in restrained spatial perception. Early on, he managed to create space and depth through contrasts and coloring alone.

In the late 1960s, he often painted gardens and other landscapes from a bird's eye view. Today, one could compare this to the view from a high-flying drone. (See image below - Red Field) This often resulted in abstract images that, upon closer inspection, were coherent and had inherent depth. Fundamentally, Lerche always dealt with the question of how real space relates to space in painting. From the 1970s onwards, art - especially in America - overcame the traditional binding to canvas, and Lerche too began to investigate the "problem" of pictorial space on wood as a material. Since then, his methodical clarity was only comparable to Gerhard Richter. Suddenly, not only color and perspective spoke for themselves, but also the three-dimensional material. Moreover, wood offered Horst the best surface structure. He began to adopt the fundamental laws and experiences of construction, in this respect he can be placed in the tradition of the Bauhaus. He began to engage with statics, dynamics, and balance - in other words, he didn't just paint the pictures, he built them.

During this period, he also received many commissions for "constructions of space" from the surrounding area. He always dealt with the question of how a space could achieve a certain mood and used material, color, statics, and dynamics. Horst lived and worked in Jüchen (Rhineland) since the 1970s and regularly spent working stays at his house in northern Greece in spring and autumn. He suffered a stroke in 2012 and passed away in 2017 at the age of 78.