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While German painting of the postwar period essentially concerned
itself with coming to terms with the past and presenting it in
gestures ranging from the heroic to the ironic, Daniel Richter
focuses on positioning himself in the present. Time and again he
devises new ways of being "modern" in a medium that has long been
labeled old-fashioned and anachronistic. His pictures constantly
challenge the spectator by their painterly and contextually
excessive demands, but they do not lecture on moral issues. In five
chapters featuring more than 200 examples of his works, the author
Eva Meyer-Hermann traces the chronological development of Richter's
artistic output for the first time. The turns from abstraction to
figuration and back again that until now have been described as
abrupt, prove on closer examination to be a logical consequence and
a sign of conscious artistic action.
The paintings of Albert Oehlen live by audacious strategies, by
questioning the image and the rules of abstraction, and by an
openness and beauty often reached through the unlikeliest of means.
In this expansive monograph, we meet the full range of Oehlen's
artistic thoughts and approaches: paintings that integrate mirrors,
paintings that are executed strictly in primary colors or only in
gray, heavily pixelated paintings produced with the help of one of
the first personal computers. We find collaged fragments of garish
poster ads on canvases that transforming screaming slogans into
abstract elements, charcoal drawings the size of a wall, finger
paintings, and paintings in which black treelike silhouettes
contort themselves into a lexicon of abstract forms. Throughout,
Oehlen transforms the conceptual into the compositional, at once
invigorating and challenging the viewer. Revising and updating
TASCHEN's previous Collector's Edition, this revelatory survey
explores Oehlen's trajectory from his early days up to the present.
It features more than 400 paintings as well as insightful
commentaries and interviews, covering Oehlen's different work
stages and approaches. Roberto Ohrt's essay takes us back to the
special vibe of the early 1980s where Oehlen worked alongside
Kippenberger, Buttner, and others, part of a scene that painted
quickly and close to the pulse of time. Oehlen discusses his
computer paintings with John Corbett, and follows up on his more
recent work, his thoughts on art, and his day in the studio in a
lengthy conversation with Alexander Klar. Together with a
collection of shorter texts and statements, this brings us close to
the ideas of an artist who has been dubbed "the most resourceful
abstract painter alive."
This is the definitive monograph of Oehlen's work to date. This XL
retrospective explores Albert Oehlen's entire career
chronologically and examines his creative process via in-depth
texts. Limited to 1,000 copies, each numbered and signed by the
artist.Albert Oehlen seeks the limits of painting in his work,
challenging viewers to abandon their instinctive expectations. His
early work in the late 1970s - when painting was decidedly out of
fashion - was associated with a so-called 'bad painting' movement,
in that it aimed at challenging ideas about what makes a painting
'good' or 'bad'; a recent exhibition in London was, somewhat
ironically, entitled 'I Will Always Champion Good Painting'. With
an approach he describes as 'post-non-representational', Oehlen
uses painting not only as a way to convey meaning, but also as a
means of exploring the function a painting can serve - often a
painting's title itself gives the work an entirely new dimension.
Never without a touch of tongue-in-cheek humor, his work seems to
be winking at us as it dares us to change the way we look at art.
Combining subtlety and sophistication with chaos and brutality,
Oehlen has left an indelible mark on contemporary painting.This XL
monograph explores all groups of Oehlen's work chronologically via
genre-oriented approach, such as mud-colored paintings, mirror
paintings, computer paintings, and so forth. Like a series of
interlocking episodes, the chapters of the book draw the reader
into a complex drama of constantly evolving themes. In-depth texts
get to the root of Oehlen's creative process, and an exhaustive
bibliography and biography round out this comprehensive study.
While Oehlen fans will rejoice at the publication of this
breathtaking book, no one with an interest in contemporary art can
afford pass up this unique opportunity to discover Oehlen's work.
And to anyone who says painting is obsolete: we beg to differ. This
book is also available in an Art Edition, limited to 100 copies and
with an original artwork by Albert Oehlen.
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