Michael Werner Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of a series of recent paintings and drawings by Markus Lüpertz entitled 'Ruckenakt'(Nude Back).
One of the most important German painters of his generation, Lüpertz focuses in this series on painting pictorial motifs. Drawing from his imagination, each individual canvas reveals a general investigation by the artist into the opposition between abstraction and figuration. This approach is at the core of Lüpertz's creative process, one that continues to influence and inspire a younger generation of German painters today.
'Ruckenakt'provides a unique opportunity to view a fully-realized body of work and further insight into Lüpertz's artistic exploration. The monumental figures in each work come to life through the painter's typically deliberate, generative and rhythmic momentum. Pictorial motifs including limbs, turtles, forests, and ships are inserted into the different landscapes, referencing mythological, classical and iconic symbols seen in Lüpertz's overall oeuvre.
Markus Lüpertz was born in 1941 in Liberec, Bohemia (the current Czech Republic). From 1956 to 1961 he studied at the Werkkunstschule Krefeld and the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Upon moving to Berlin in 1963 he created his first significant works, the 'Dithyrambische Malerei' and later co-founded Galerie Groÿgörschen 35. Since the 70's, Lüpertz has been the subject of many international exhibitions, including Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Kunstsammlung Nordhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf; IVAM Centro Julio Gonzalez, Valencia; Kunstmuseum Bonn; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; and Museum Ludwig, Cologne, among others. Markus Lüpertz is the director of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, a position he has held since 1988.
The recipient of several honors and awards, including the Villa Romana prize and the Deutches Hritikverband Award, Markus Lüpertz was most recently honored with the fourth International Julio Gonzalez prize, awarded by the Council of the Generalitat Valenciana and the Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM). Markus Lüpertz is also the editor and independent publisher of 'Frau und Hund' a critical arts publication that seeks to promote a discourse around art and literature. Markus Lüpertz lives and works in Düsseldorf and Karlsruhe, Germany.
This exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring an essay by Richard Shiff, Effie Marie Cain Regents Chair in Art, Department of Art and Art History, The University of Texas at Austin.
The exhibition is on view 19 May through 1 July 2005. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10am until 6pm. Please note our summer hours will be Monday through Friday from 10am until 6pm starting May 27. For more information please contact the gallery.