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  • Martin Kippenberger
Tate Modern Exhibition

Martin Kippenberger

8 February – 14 May 2006

Martin Kippenberger Heavy Burschi / Heavy Guy 1989/90

This is the first major UK exhibition to explore the extraordinary art of Martin Kippenberger (1953–1997). The German artist produced a rich and diverse body of work from the mid 1970s until his untimely death at the age of 44 and is now regarded as one of the most influential artists of his time.

Kippenberger once proclaimed that he was the ultimate embodiment of the art of the 1980s and it is certainly true that his work was preoccupied with a number of artistic concerns prevalent at the time. He was a master appropriator who consistently absorbed, challenged and transformed the world around him. His work draws on popular culture, art, architecture, music, politics, history and his own life – where no subject remained sacred. Also reflective of the era was Kippenberger's awareness of the importance of self-publicity. He was constantly reinventing himself and his art, and tirelessly controlled his image through press and marketing. He also felt that he was working in the face of a 'perceived death of painting' and his art reflects his struggle with the concept that, at the turn of the millennium, it was impossible to produce anything original or authentic.

In this long-awaited exhibition, work from his entire career is presented in a loose chronology. Included are forty paintings, four large installations, ten sculptures and numerous works on paper. Many of these works are privately owned and are rarely seen in public. Highlights include the remarkable installation The Happy End of Franz Kafka's 'Amerika' 1994, which consists of an array of tables and chairs organised on a green basketball court, and is a commentary on Kafka's description of the series of interviews faced by immigrants on arrival in the USA. Also, on show are books, photographs and exhibition posters which offer a revealing portrait of 'Kippenberger the exhibition-maker'.

Tate Modern

Bankside
London SE1 9TG
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Dates

8 February – 14 May 2006

Sponsored by

Tate International Council

Tate International Council

In partnership with

The Observer

The Observer

Find out more

  • Martin Kippenberger with llama at the closing party of S O 36 music club in Berlin  30 June 1980

    We believe that taste doesn't apply to the honesty of exaggeration

    Daniel Baumann

    Associated with the culture of refined abandon is the idea that art and alcohol are related, ending in tragically romantic self-destruction. Martin Kippenberger explored the clichés and norms of the art world, and the art of his generation is better understood in the light of the emergence of rock and punk, transforming this taboo-breaking energy into art. Daniel Baumann digs deeper.

  • Pop Life exhibition banner

    Pop Life: Art in a Material World

    Pop Life: Art in a Material World - past exhibition at Tate Modern

  • A cacophony for a formidable iconoclast

    Alison M. Gingeras , Gisela Capitain , Roberto Ohrt , John Baldessari , Jutta Koether , Urs Fischer and Piotr Uklanski

    Alison Gingeras, John Baldessari, Gisela Capitain, and others on Martin Kippenberger, Tate Etc. issue 06

  • Sorry, no image available

    Artist

    Martin Kippenberger

    1953–1997
  • Artist

    Albert Oehlen

    born 1954
  • Artist

    Joseph Beuys

    1921–1986
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