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'I'm in favour of good-mood worlds. Because I’m on the good-mood side, although
that’s not to say that tragic things aren’t constantly happening to me'. Martin
Kippenberger (1953–1997)
This
room brings together paintings from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s that all
share the same dimensions (180 x 150 cm), a presentation that echoes Kippenberger’s
own installation of his last exhibition before his death, which opened in Geneva
in 1997 (below left). Kippenberger’s deliberately provocative interest in socialist
art is evident in Sympathische Kommunistin [Likeable Communist Woman]
(1983) a painting that seems designed to infuriate petit-bourgeois and leftist
sympathisers alike, while humorous one-liners such as For a Life without
a Dentist (1984) reveal Kippenberger’s fondness for combining unrelated
image and text. Also included are works such as Kostengebirge (Saure Gurken
Zeit) [Cost Peaks (The Silly Season)] (1985), one of Kippenberger’s paintings
that uses an economic graph as a model. Later paintings include Untitled (1996),
one of the self-portraits in which Kippenberger’s pose is based on the figures
in Théodore Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa (1819), and Untitled (from
the series Jacqueline: the paintings Pablo couldn’t paint anymore)
(1996), a portrait of Pablo Picasso’s final muse Jacqueline, based on photographs
of her that were taken in Picasso's studio after the artist's death.
In the centre of the room is a large vitrine, similar to one used by Kippenberger
for his 1993 exhibition at the Centre Pompidou, Paris (above), which contains
many of his invitation cards, photographs, ephemera, and, most importantly,
books. Kippenberger considered the exhibition catalogue or book an independent
work, believing that artists should take control of all aspects of their careers.
In keeping with this belief, he always involved himself in the design of exhibition
announcements and catalogues, and it has even been suggested that the exhibition
itself was an excuse to produce all this supplementary material.
J. A. F. 1985
Private Collection, London
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Junger; progressiver Arzt beider Betrachtung von Unrat / Young Progressive
Doctor Contemplating Yuk
1985
Friedrich Christian Flick Collection
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Untitled 1996 (from the series Jacqueline: The
Paintings Pablo Couldn't Paint Anymore) Private Collection, Frankfurt am Main
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Sympathische Kommunistin / Likable Communist Woman / 1983
Private Collection
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Untitled (Political Correct III) 1994
Private Collection, courtesy Marc Jancou Fine Art, New York
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2. Preis / 2nd Prize 1987
Estate Martin Kippenberger
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We don't have problems with the Rolling Stones, because
we buy their guitars 1986
Private Collection
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Nous n'avons pas de problèmes avec les dépressions, tant qu'elles ne se mettent pas à être en vogue / We don't have problems with depressions, as long as they don't come into fashion 1986 Private Collection, courtesty Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin
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