GEORG BASELITZ

28. 2. — 3. 5. 2015

Parallel to the major Arnulf Rainer retrospective, the works of Georg Baselitz from the Frieder Burda Collection will be presented. This enables the visitor to discover thematic and methodological similarities in the work of the two artists. Baselitz, one of the most influential artists of our time, whose virtuosity and productivity never cease to inspire, is represented in the collection by fourteen paintings and two sculptures, which provide a good indication of his development since 1963.

As early as the 1960s, Baselitz defended himself against the prevailing academic dogma of non-objective art. In his massive, expressive heroic paintings in the mid-1960s, the artist reflected both on his inner emotional state and on the more general location of the post-war generation. At the end of the 1960s, formal aspects increasingly moved to the forefront of his painting, and the artistic exploration of color and form led to the Fraktur pictures, in which the motifs were cut up, dissected and recomposed. From 1969 Baselitz literally turned the picture content upside down. As a result, perception is distracted from the image and increasingly directed towards the formal and color design of the picture surface. It is not so much what is shown as how the artist expresses himself in the medium of painting that makes Baselitz’ paintings special visual experiences. These powerful works were followed in the 1990s by a new mode of expression, resulting in works of light color and unusual lightness. From 2005 onwards, in the series of remix pictures, which are characterized by a new luminosity of color, the artist drew on important motifs from his artistic development and subjected them to a virtuoso reinterpretation.