Early Life, Family and Training

Oswald Malura was born on October 9, 1906, in Boleslau, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. His early years were shaped by the practicalities of craft, beginning with an apprenticeship under a decorative painter in Ratibor. This period of training provided a foundation in the physical handling of materials and the discipline of manual application before he moved toward more formal academic study.

In 1926, Malura moved to Munich to enroll at the Academy of Fine Arts. He spent his time there absorbing the technical rigors of the institution, eventually completing his studies as a master student after two years. His time in Munich established the professional footing that would support his later life as both a painter and a gallerist.

Travels Through India and South America

After completing his studies, Malura received the Mons Travel Scholarship for artistic excellence. This allowed him to spend three years in India and Ceylon to study the landscape. During this time, he met Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. He even recorded a twelve-minute silent film of Tagore teaching in open-air classes at Shantiniketan. These years in the sub-continent left a mark on his approach to color and space, moving him away from the strict academic influences of his training toward a more free composition.

His movement through the world continued later, shifting from the landscapes of Asia to the waters of the Southern Hemisphere. From 1951 to 1955, he circumnavigated the South American continent on a 16-meter sailboat. This period of sailing was a significant departure from his earlier studies, adding a different sense of scale and light to his experience of the world.

Artistic Career in Munich and Schwabing

After the Second World War, Malura became a fixture in the Schwabing district of Munich. He opened the Galerie Malura on Leopoldstraße, a space where the walls changed frequently to host monthly exhibitions, lectures, and discussions. This gallery was part of a broader engagement with the city's intellectual life; in 1947, he co-initiated the Weltstaatenbund alongside Horst Lange. His presence in the neighborhood was not limited to showing work, as he also operated a state-approved painting and drawing school, passing on technical skills to others.

His home in Schwabing served as a gathering point for the local creative community. From 1965 to 1977, his apartment at Kaulbachstraße 75 hosted the Bürgerversammlungen der Traumstadt, a series of meetings for artists. These gatherings brought people together in a private setting to discuss art and ideas. His life in Munich was defined by this balance of formal teaching, gallery management, and the informal hosting of peers.

Technique and Artistic Style

Malura’s approach to the canvas changed as he moved away from the strict, academic influences of his early training. His early works followed a more traditional, disciplined structure, but this gave way to a much freer sense of composition. He began to experiment with how color and space interacted, moving toward an abstract form of expression. This shift saw him move away from the rigid lines of his student years toward a style defined by flat compositions and a wide range of color tones. He often tested the limits of his materials, exploring the textures of paper and glass to see how they might hold pigment.

His output was varied, ranging from portraits and still lifes to collages and abstract works. Much of his color work was born from his time spent in India, Ceylon, and South America. In these places, he captured the landscape through a lens of intense color. His later years were marked by this continued interest in abstraction, where the subject matter became less about a specific place and more about the interplay of color and shape. He focused on how different materials could change the way a viewer perceives a surface.

• Tachist Study, 1957
• Malura, 1964

Later Years and the Malura Museum

In the late 1950s, Malura moved toward the hills of Oberdießen, near Landsberg am Lech. There, he built the Atelier am Hang, a space dedicated to his practice. By 1977, his focus had shifted toward a different kind of gathering. He acquired an old farmhouse in Oberdießen and renovated it, naming the space the Haus der Begegnung. This house became a meeting point for those who shared his interests, a place for quiet connection and cultural exchange.

The work he produced during these years continued to evolve, moving toward more abstract forms and experimenting with the textures of paper and glass. In 1993, the Malura Museum was established in Oberdießen to house his estate. The museum occupies three floors, displaying his early academic studies, his works from his time in India, and the abstract paintings that emerged after 1945. It remains a place where his life's work is kept, including documentation of the Weltstaatenbund he helped initiate in 1947.

Following his death in 2003, the Oswald-Malura-Kunststiftung was founded to operate the museum. The foundation manages the collection and supports the preservation of his artistic legacy. The museum continues to host various exhibitions and cultural events, maintaining the spirit of the meeting place he helped create in his later years.

Where to See the Works Today

The Malura Museum in Oberdießen holds the artist's estate. Visitors can walk through three floors that trace the progression of his hands and eyes. The lower levels contain the early works from his youth and the pieces produced during his years at the Munich Academy. These early studies provide a look at the foundation of his technical training before his travels took hold.

The museum also preserves the colorful impressions from his time in India and Ceylon. These works reflect the light and landscapes he encountered during those years. Alongside these, the collection includes his abstract paintings created after 1945. This selection allows for a direct observation of how his approach to form and color shifted as he moved away from more traditional structures toward a more fluid, non-figurative language.