Andrea Madesta Book order

Andrea Madesta presents a compelling exhibition at the Kunstforum der Ostdeutschen Galerie in Regensburg, showcasing exceptional drawings and small sculptures from Markus Lüpertz's graphic oeuvre. These works stand out as some of Lüpertz’s finest, contrasting with the often coarse and heroic nature of his larger pieces, which frequently feature deliberate mutilation or antiquing. Here, the forms emerge more directly from the artist’s hand, offering a fresh perspective. The Bozzetti possess a tangible quality rooted in physicality, devoid of any overt dramatics. This interplay between drawing and sculpture creates an intimate dialogue that reveals the internal dynamics of Lüpertz’s work, sometimes more effectively than his grand, completed pieces. Madesta’s selection provides a unique insight into Lüpertz’s artistry, serving as a contemporary reexamination of his work. In this context, significant mythical sculptures are reimagined as chimera-like entities, wherein the artist deconstructs traditional myths. This exhibition invites viewers to appreciate the subtleties and complexities of Lüpertz’s artistic vision, emphasizing the beauty found in his drawings and smaller sculptures.

Within the rubric of classical modern art, the category - abstract - is stillsubject to several unique and differing conceptions. This hard-coverexhibition catalog in a folio format follows a historical lineage ofabstract painting in the later 20th Century, attempting to explain itssignificance by deciphering the work of seminal artists such as PietMondrian, then moving on to contemporary artists like Gerhard Richter,Gunther Förg, David Reed, Gert and Uwe Tobias and Andreas Gursky.Text is minimal but meaningful, compressing each artist and his or herwork into a dense paragraph. Few exhibition catalogs so closelyapproximate the experience of actually visiting the exhibit, especiallywith such true-to-life reproductions.

Maria Lassnig zählt zu den einflussreichsten österreichischen Künstlerinnen nach 1945, deren Werk in den letzten Jahren durch retrospektive Ausstellungen in München, Köln, London und Cincinnati große Aufmerksamkeit erlangt hat. Ihr charakteristischer Stil umfasst eine gedeckte Farbpalette, fragmentierte und skulptural wirkende Figuren sowie skurrile Themen und eigenwillige Perspektiven. Zunächst brachte sie eine feministisch inspirierte Kunstgeschichtsschreibung wieder in die Diskussion, doch nun hat sich ihr Status als Künstlerin gewandelt. Die bevorstehende Retrospektive in den Deichtorhallen, die zuvor in der Neuen Galerie Graz zu sehen war, belegt diesen Wandel. Das vorliegende Buch, herausgegeben von Andrea Madesta, erschien anlässlich der Ausstellung „Körperbilder“ (body awareness painting) in Klagenfurt im Frühjahr 2006 und war schnell vergriffen. Anlässlich der Ausstellung in Hamburg ist es gelungen, den verbliebenen Rest der Auflage wieder zugänglich zu machen, sodass es nun als Sonderausgabe angeboten wird. Dieser ansprechende Band bietet einen umfassenden Überblick über das Gesamtwerk der Künstlerin und stellt eine hervorragende Einführung sowie Ergänzung zur Retrospektive in Hamburg dar.

Sometimes plausible, sometimes inconceivable, Paul Morrison's starkly black-and-white wall works, with their precisely defined forms, relocate the viewer into a fictitious place equipped with a range of comfortably familiar allusions. Constructed through a combination of gently rounded forms derived equally from Walt Disney and the rigor of the botanical draftsman, Morrison's imaginary world mixes the earnest truth with the sincere make-believe.