At the beginning of the 60’s, the revival of representational painting and a return to the figure stand in opposition to Art Informel. Strong convergence with German expressionism is at least implicitly present, both stylistically and thematically. An expressively figurative concreteness is represented in the HEUKING collection by artists such as Markus Lüpertz, Jörg Immendorff, up to the recent tendencies of urban artist El Bocho.
© artist
Photo: Achim Kukulies <br>
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The artist El Bocho (b. 1978 in Frankfurt am Main), who lives in Berlin, actualizes most of his works on the walls of houses, where he affixes images that have been prepared in the studio. Often, the subject is human figures whose contours he has cut out, and the figures thereby assume a close visual connection with their surrounding areas. Script is also used here. El Bocho's preferred subjects are large format portraits of women, which are also presented in mixed media on canvas in galleries. The picture acquired for the collection – a “chance acquaintance” of Dr. Wolfgang Kühn from Berlin – speaks of an inner fragility, with its tremulous lines that contour the face of the young woman. She is virtually a modern “femme fragile.” The graphic style and even the type of woman remind one of the alternative culture of the late 1960s and early 70s, which is popular again today and also lends the picture a nostalgic flavor. (Thomas W. Kuhn, From: Catalogue 2011)
Total 38,5 x 26 x 36,6 cm, Edition 980 <br>
© The Estate of Jörg Immendorff
Photo: Achim Kukulies <br>
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Jörg Immendorff (b. 1945 in Bleckede, d. 2007 in Düsseldorf), along with Markus Lüpertz and Georg Baselitz, belongs to the trailblazers of the New Wild and Fierce Painting movements that made a lasting impression on the German art scene at the beginning of the 1980s. He first studied stage design at the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts, and later studied free art with Joseph Beuys. <br>
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Immendorff‘s admiration for his teacher is reflected in his art through humorous manipulation of this special relationship. What the rabbit represented for Joseph Beuys is represented by the motif of the ape for Jörg Immendorff; it is drawn through his work like a golden thread.<br>
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The split sculpture “Alter Ego - Das andere Ich” is concerned with the bipolarity and contrariness of man. Engraved on the side of the pedestal are the texts “The sculptor in the painter is his best enemy” and “Alter Ego” - an obvious reference to the two sides of the artist. The two separate halves of the sculpture symbolize Immendorff’s pictorial and sculptural work and allow themselves to be joined into an artistic unity.
Total 38,5 x 26 x 36,6 cm, Edition 980 <br>
© The Estate of Jörg Immendorff
Photo: Achim Kukulies <br>
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Jörg Immendorff (b. 1945 in Bleckede, d. 2007 in Düsseldorf), along with Markus Lüpertz and Georg Baselitz, belongs to the trailblazers of the New Wild and Fierce Painting movements that made a lasting impression on the German art scene at the beginning of the 1980s. He first studied stage design at the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts, and later studied free art with Joseph Beuys. <br>
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Immendorff‘s admiration for his teacher is reflected in his art through humorous manipulation of this special relationship. What the rabbit represented for Joseph Beuys is represented by the motif of the ape for Jörg Immendorff; it is drawn through his work like a golden thread.<br>
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The split sculpture “Alter Ego - Das andere Ich” is concerned with the bipolarity and contrariness of man. Engraved on the side of the pedestal are the texts “The sculptor in the painter is his best enemy” and “Alter Ego” - an obvious reference to the two sides of the artist. The two separate halves of the sculpture symbolize Immendorff’s pictorial and sculptural work and allow themselves to be joined into an artistic unity.
© The Estate of Jörg Immendorff
Photo: Achim Kukulies <br>
<br>
Jörg Immendorff (b. 1945 in Bleckede, d. 2007 in Düsseldorf), along with Markus Lüpertz and Georg Baselitz, belongs to the trailblazers of the New Wild and Fierce Painting movements that made a lasting impression on the German art scene at the beginning of the 1980s. He first studied stage design at the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts, and later studied free art with Joseph Beuys.<br>
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Immendorff‘s admiration for his teacher is reflected in his art through humorous manipulation of this special relationship. What the rabbit represented for Joseph Beuys is represented by the motif of the ape for Jörg Immendorff; it is drawn through his work like a golden thread. <br>
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Immendorff has portrayed himself, as he so often does, as a painter-ape with a paintbrush. The ape riding on the horse takes center stage in his graphic work “Untitled – rotes Pferd, Affe, Rad” The horse appears to stroll into the picture unfazed by events, and is silhouetted in high contrast before a luminously ocher-orange background. The ape appears timid and lost on the horse. In an interview, Immendorff said, “For me, the ape was and is simply a second self. Symbol for the ambivalence of the artist’s existence, of conviction and self-doubt. He is absurd and wise, and stands for polar opposites.” (Immendorff in conversation with Pamela Kort, 1992)
H 78 cm, L 40 cm W 35 cm, Edition 6 / 6 <br>
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Photo: Achim Kukulies <br>
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Markus Lüpertz (b. 1941 in Reichenberg) ranks among the outstanding German artists of the present. His works in between figuration and abstraction are ascribed to Neoimpressionism. <br>
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One of the most prominent acquisitions in recent years for the Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek collection is the monumental bust “Jason - Anführer der Argonauten.” Jason, the rightful successor to the throne of Thessaly, is challenged by Pelias, the son of Poseidon, to bring the famed Golden Fleece to his homeland as a precondition for becoming King. Jason confronts this overwhelming task, knowing full well that he has an extremely small chance of returning alive. <br>
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Based on the ancient archetype, Lüpertz paints the bronze and represents the hero Jason with a shrewd countenance. The highly concentrated, intense gaze reveals Jason’s resolve and youthful zest for action to obtain, at any cost, the Golden Fleece that will make its owner invincible.
H 78 cm, L 40 cm W 35 cm, Edition 6 / 6 <br>
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Photo: Achim Kukulies <br>
<br>
Markus Lüpertz (b. 1941 in Reichenberg) ranks among the outstanding German artists of the present. His works in between figuration and abstraction are ascribed to Neoimpressionism. <br>
<br>
One of the most prominent acquisitions in recent years for the Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek collection is the monumental bust “Jason - Anführer der Argonauten.” Jason, the rightful successor to the throne of Thessaly, is challenged by Pelias, the son of Poseidon, to bring the famed Golden Fleece to his homeland as a precondition for becoming King. Jason confronts this overwhelming task, knowing full well that he has an extremely small chance of returning alive. <br>
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Based on the ancient archetype, Lüpertz paints the bronze and represents the hero Jason with a shrewd countenance. The highly concentrated, intense gaze reveals Jason’s resolve and youthful zest for action to obtain, at any cost, the Golden Fleece that will make its owner invincible.
© artist
Photo: Achim Kukulies <br>
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Susanne Kamps (b. 1967 in Münster) studied painting from 1996 to 2001 at the Academy of Art in Münster. In her works, she concerns herself with the history of modernity.<br>
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The oval table forms the central point of the painting “Bambus-Tryptichon.” The background consists of subtle colors with arabesque elements. The composition is fringed on the sides by bamboo stalks before a black background. The artist harkens back to Matisse with respect to color and also motif. As was the case for her role model, color is the absolute design medium of the stand-alone visual space. Representational themes are constrained two-dimensionally in a foreshortening of perspective, so that a decorative effect dominates the whole picture.