Business as unusual

The painter, illustrator and conceptual artist Jim Avignon is one of the most unconventional characters in the current German art world. Vibrant colours and unpretentious materials, a good dose of wit and an enormous output are his trademarks. For the first time an opulent monograph allows a comprehensive insight into the complex oeuvre of the artist, who has always sought confrontation with the establishment and who could never decide whether he wanted to be pop-art, street-art, Picasso on acid or whether he was simply the fastest painter in the world. Avignon’s narrative about “things not going as planned” is full of concise quips and not without a certain delight. He expounds his peculiar relationship with the art market and describes the exhibitions that finally put him on the map as an exceptional artist. We get to read about odd detours into the world of commerce, a stolen bear, paintings that need ironing, call-for-help socks and how a mural almost landed him in jail. Avignon spills the beans about the high and lows of one of the strangest careers the art world has seen in the last 25 years—expect a lot of detail, an ironic undertone and an abundance of images. Accompanying texts written by ATAK, Sandra Prill, and Lars Willumeit.