Georg Baselitz

Born 1938 as Hans-Georg Kern in Deutschbaselitz near Dresden (Saxony)
Lives and works lives and works between the Ammer lake (Bavaria) and Imperia (Liguria)
 

Georg Baselitz is one of Germany's most prolific and well-known living artists. Born in Saxony in 1938 - painter, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor - Baselitz is perhaps best known for painting his motifs upside-down as a strategy to liberate the subject matter. His work incorporates figures, animals, birds, landscapes and still lifes.
From the outset, Baselitz confronted the visceral realities of history and the human and cultural tragedies of a world in turmoil with a cast of tragic anti-heroes, from the grotesque, masturbating boy of Die grosse Nacht im Eimer (Big Night Down the Drain) of 1963, to the broken soldiers of the Fracture paintings and the inverted figures of the disturbing "upside-down paintings." In 1980, at the German pavilion at the Venice Biennale, he caused a stir with a monumental carved wooden figure, which appeared to make a Hitlerian salute. Evidently, what it is to be German and a German artist has been very much on Baselitz's mind throughout his career - paintings abound with child Hitlers and dismembered woodcutters - although his oeuvre owes as much to a broader range of influences, including Art Brut and the drawings and writings of Antonin Artaud, as well as sixteenth century German woodcuts and African sculptures. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, however, the angst seemingly ebbed from his vision and he produced a series of paintings that he refers to as "sentimental pictures" about his childhood, home, and family in the former East German.

Exhibitions:
MIGRATION
First International Pop Up Show by ARNDT in Sydney, Australia
March 27th to July 10th 2012

Group exhibition with:
Georg Baselitz, Joseph Beuys, Sophie Calle, Nick Caven, Joe Coleman, William Cordova, George Condo, Isa Genzken, Gilbert and George, FX Harsono, Anton Henning, Thomas Hirschhorn, Geraldine Javier, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Jitish Kallat, Rafael Lozano Hammer, Vik Muniz, Eko Nugroho, Navil Ranwanchaikul, Neo Rauch, Julian Rosefeldt, Charles Sandison, Thomas Scheibitz, Nedko Solakov, Sui Jianguo, Agus Suwage, Christine Ay Tjoe, Natee Utarit, Bill Viola, Franz West, Entang Wiharso, Liu Xiaodong, Yang Jiechang, Qiu Zhi Jie, Zhu Jinshi, Thomas Zipp
 

Migration, 2012, Installation view with Matthias Arndt between Neo Rauch, Georg Baselitz, Nick Cave, George Condo an Geraldine Javier,  Photo: Gerard Wood Migration, 2012, Installation view with Matthias Arndt between Neo Rauch, Georg Baselitz, Nick Cave, George Condo an Geraldine Javier, Photo: Gerard Wood

Exhibitions

Migration, 2012, Installationview with Nick Cave and  George Condo; Photo: Gerard Wood Migration, 2012, Installationview with Nick Cave and George Condo; Photo: Gerard Wood
Migration, Installationview, 2012 with Natee Utarit and Jianguo Sui; Photo: Gerard Wood Migration, Installationview, 2012 with Natee Utarit and Jianguo Sui; Photo: Gerard Wood
Migration, 2012, Installationview with Thomas Hirschhorn; Photo: Gerard Wood Migration, 2012, Installationview with Thomas Hirschhorn; Photo: Gerard Wood
Migration, 2012, Opening; Photo: Gerard Wood Migration, 2012, Opening; Photo: Gerard Wood
Migration, 2012, Installationview with Matthias Arndt between Neo Rauch, Georg Baselitz, Nick Cave, George Condo an Geraldine Javier; Photo: Gerard Wood   Migration, 2012, Installationview with Matthias Arndt between Neo Rauch, Georg Baselitz, Nick Cave, George Condo an Geraldine Javier; Photo: Gerard Wood

MIGRATION
First International Pop Up Show by ARNDT
opening in Sydney March 26th
March 27th to July 10th 2012

Please click here to watch a video of the "Migration" pop-up show in Sydney.
Please click here to see a list of exhibited works.

Migration, a major pop-up art show by Arndt launches in Sydney

In what will be one of the most exciting visual art developments in Sydney this year, Berlin gallerist, Matthias Arndt will launch his first pop-up art show.
Migration, will showcase museum quality works from many European and North American contemporary masters, such as Gilbert and George, Sophie Calle, Thomas Hirschhorn, Joseph Beuys and Bill Viola, as well as featuring some of the Asia Pacific region’s most exciting established and emerging artist.
Matthias Arndt said today, “The pop-up concept gives me the opportunity of bringing together a group of celebrated international artists in this vibrant art landscape in the Southern Hemisphere and forms a major part of my new initiative of working in Australia and the Asia Pacific Region.”
Arndt’s strategy is to bring exciting emerging and major established international and Asian art to Australia and in turn, show Asian Art in Europe at the Arndt Gallery in Berlin. With 25 years experience as an art expert and dealer in Europe, Matthias can now use his expertise in China, the booming South East Asian Market and Australia.
Migration will be produced by Matthias Arndt and his wife, Tiffany Wood, who has 20 years experience in the art world with Sotheby’s in London and New York, Marianne Boesky Gallery New York and Phillips de Pury & Company New York, London and Berlin.
Matthias Arndt, pioneered contemporary art in Berlin, New York, Zurich and Beijing, opening his first gallery in Berlin in 1994. He was the first West German to open a contemporary art gallery in East Berlin. “Berlin has established itself as one of the exiting art centers in the past decade, but the Asian region is fast becoming the power house of contemporary art,” he said.
Matthais Arndt sees the concept of the pop-up art show as a logical evolution of conventional gallery spaces.
“Galleries need to find a new way of doing things. The art market is now global and no single conventional gallery can represent artists successfully. I am not interested in building another permanent white cube art gallery. What does excite me is creating a new and unconventional platform in which to introduce international art of this quality to the Australian market. As I did in Berlin two decades ago,” he said.
Migration will feature work from 33 artists (full list below) and will be a selling show with works priced from $6000, to $500,000.
Migration will open parallel to the re-opening of the new Mordant Wing of the MCA at the end of March 2012, in a transformed office building within walking distance from the MCA. The architectural concept for the space is provided by CHOI ROPIHA FIGHERA.

Migration unites works of recognised artists from China, USA, Germany, Great Britain, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, South America, Africa and the Middle East. They are either emerging artists in their national scenes or already established and at the same time stars in the international art world through the Biennales, Museum-Retrospectives and the major art fairs.
There are plans for further pop-up shows throughout the regions together with focussed artist projects.
 

Location: - CASSydney, 9 Jenkins Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Open times: - March 27 to 31 - 10am to 6pm
April/May/June: Thursday, Friday and Saturday only - 11am to 5pm
(and by appointment - please contact Tiffany Wood on her mobile +61 044 777 5530 or per e-mail: tw2105 at googlemail dot com)
Closing: - July 10

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Georg Baselitz
Joseph Beuys
Sophie Calle
Nick Cave
Joe Coleman
William Cordova
George Condo
Isa Genzken
Gilbert and George
FX Harsono
Anton Henning
Thomas Hirschhorn
Geraldine Javier
Ilya and Emilia Kabakov
Jitish Kallat
Rafael Lozano Hemmer
Robert Mapplethorpe
Vik Muniz
Eko Nugroho
Navil Ranwanchaikul
Neo Rauch
Julian Rosefeldt
Charles Sandison
Thomas Scheibitz
Nedko Solakov 
Sui Jianguo
Agus Suwage
Christine Ay Tjoe
Natee Utarit
Bill Viola
Franz West
Entang Wiharso
Liu Xiaodong
Yang Jiechang
Qiu Zhi Jie
Zhu Jinshi
Thomas Zipp

ARNDT Statement:

Following, The Ephemeral, a curated group show held in the Berlin gallery, Migration is the first major pop-up-show to be held in Sydney, Australia by ARNDT. As part of the new initiative of working in Australia and the Asia Pacific Region, Matthias Arndt has brought together a group of celebrated international artists to this vibrant art landscape in the Southern Hemisphere.
Migration will open parallel to the re-opening of the new building of the MCA at the end of March 2012, in a transformed office building within walking distance from the MCA and world famous Sydney Harbour.
Migration is a significant part of Matthias Arndt’s strategy to bring exciting emerging and major established international and Asian art to Australia and in turn, showing Asian Art in Europe to feature in the Berlin Gallery programme. With 25 years experience as an art expert and dealer in Europe, Matthias can now use his expertise in China, the booming South East Asian Market and Australia. There are plans for Pop-Up shows throughout these new regions over the next years together with focussed artist projects.
Migration will be produced by Matthias Arndt and his wife, Tiffany Wood, who has 20 years experience in the art world with Sotheby’s in London and New York, Marianne Boesky Gallery New York and Phillips de Pury & Company New York, London and Berlin.

PRESS

BlouinARTINFO | 6 April 2012 | How Art World Powerhouse Matthias Arndt Plans to Infiltrate the Asia-Pacific Market Part 1

BlouinARTINFO | 16 April 2012 | How Matthias Arndt Plans to Conquer the Asia-Pacific Art Market Part 2