Michael Werner Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new bronze sculptures by the pre-eminent German artist, Jörg Immendorff (b. 1945)
While a student at the Düsseldorf Academy in the mid-Sixties, Immendorff interacted extensively with his professor, Joseph Beuys. Impressed by Beuys' ideas of artistic freedom, Immendorff began his own 'academy'which parodied and denounced the activities of social institutions. The social and political commentary of these early works created a visual and theoretical thread which continues to inform his work.
In these new sculptures, Immendorff creates an iconographic language by depicting apes represented in human situations. Rather than appearing as beasts, these apes are dignified and innocent, and are proportionately child-like. The ape has been used frequently by Immendorff as a self-portrait. One sculpture depicts the artist himself as a child-ape holding hands with Joseph Beuys - a father-figure, mentor and leader. The works are titled with names to suggest venerable artists such as Hans Arp, Constantin Brancusi, and Casper David Friedrich, continuing his interest in art history. This invention of a community of artists is a recurring theme most notably recognized from his Café Deutchland and Café Flore series from the 1970s and 1980s.
Immendorff has been the subject of major one-person exhibitions including Museum Boymans-van Beuningen,Rotterdam; Municipal Museum, The Hague; Kuntsmuseum, Bonn; Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia; Arts Club of Chicago; The Saatchi Collection, London.
Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, from 10am until 6pm. The exhibition will be on view from 10 February through 2 April 2005. A full-color catalogue with text by G.H. Hollander will accompany the exhibition.
Please contact the gallery for further information.