Press release
Michael Werner Gallery, Cologne is pleased to present an exhibition of recent works by Markus Lüpertz from June 25 until July 31, 2004. The exhibition is comprised of hand-painted bronzes and works on paper depicting subjects from Greek mythology.
Bronze sculptures form a significant part of Markus Lüpertz’s oeuvre, as they have since the late 1970s. The bronzes presented here continue the artist’s practice of uniquely altering each bronze cast with the application of colored paints, a process echoed in the numerous hand-colored etchings also on view. In these works, which include the three graces of classical mythology and busts of Hera, Venus, Athena and Paris, Markus Lüpertz continues to explore the major themes that have fascinated him throughout his 40 year career, namely the artist’s relationship with art history, the tension between abstraction and figuration, and the nature and role of beauty and the classical tradition.
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 Großgörschen 35. Since 1977 Markus Lüpertz has exhibited his work internationally, with major one-person exhibitions at IVAM Centro Julio Gonzalez, Valencia; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; 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.
The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring an essay by Kevin Power, Vice-Director, El Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.
Markus Lüpertz will be present at the opening.