Beschreibung:

Ο ◆31Georg BaselitzKopf an Kopf IIsigned with the artist's initials and dated ‘GB. 18.IV.89’ lower left; further signed, titled, inscribed and dated ‘G.Baselitz .7.II.89 + 18.IV.89 .Kopf an Kopf II’ on the reverse oil on canvas 250 x 200 cm (98 3/8 x 78 3/4 in.) Painted in 1989. Full CataloguingEstimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡ ♠ Place Advance BidContact Specialist Kate Bryan Specialist, Head of Evening Sale +44 20 7318 4026 kbryan@phillips.com
Overview Depicting a geometric assemblage of red and pink blocks visually morphing into a collection of variously coloured fish, Kopf an Kopf II belongs to Georg Baselitz’s formally poignant series of Streubilder (or ‘Scatter Paintings’), which he devised in the first half of 1989, and which adroitly exemplifies the artist’s increased interest colour, shape, line, and brushstroke. Departing from his previous focus on human representation and the relationship between figure and ground, predominantly deployed through his signature image of the inverted figure, Baselitz began blending expressionist brushwork with a folkloric subject matter in the 1980s and 1990s, simultaneously incorporating an idiosyncratic checkerboard pattern which he had first developed in the late 1970s. Looming before the viewer in a larger-than-life scale, Kopf on Kopf II is an exquisite example of the German artist’s part-figurative, part-abstract series, which was notably included in his landmark solo exhibition travelling from the Kunsthaus Zürich to the Städische Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, in 1990. A European Flair Marked by a scintillating resurgence of painting in critical and commercial spheres of the art world, the 1980s gave Baselitz a fresh sense of confidence that allowed him to create some of his best work – both through recycling old subject matters and devising new ones. Toward the end of the decade, the artist began moving away from the predominantly figurative content that had commanded his output a few years prior, and veering towards a more pointed investigation into the realm of abstraction. Exploring these novel pictorial parameters through the deployment of various geometric constructions, Baselitz’s Scatter Paintings embody the new approach that the artist took creatively, notably incorporating square tiles taking up large portions of the paintings’ surfaces. Coinciding with the artist’s series Ciao America – displaying a proliferation of upside-down birds – Baselitz’s Streubilder echoed the shift that was operating in the art world at the time, as European neo-expressionist work began garnering more attention, and American production resultingly receded into the background. Kopf an Kopf II symbolises this shift perfectly: it eludes the cooler, conceptual approach that American artists took on, and instead boasts distinctly European traits, namely a primitivist, expressionist brushwork that became indissociable from Baselitz’s overall aesthetic. Piet Mondrian Victory Boogie Woogie, 1944, oil on canvas, Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague. Image: Bridgeman Images. Baselitz’s Geometric Abstraction At once formulaic and elusive, figurative and abstract, Kopf an Kopf incorporates a number of visual elements that resonate with various categories and genres that defined the history of painting in modern times. Characterised by a unique all-over style, Kopf an Kopf II is notably reminiscent of Jackson Pollock and de Kooning’s expressionist compositions, as well as Philip Guston’s work of the 1950s, in its passages of textured abstraction. Additionally, the composition’s checkerboard pattern echoes the grid structure with which Piet Mondrian constructed his De Stijl compositions; specifically his Victory Boogie Woogie from 1944, which similarly distributes variously sized blocks of colour serendipitously across the canvas. Quoting painterly predecessors whilst constructing an entirely new visual language, Baselitz became a reference within the canon of contemporary painting, cementing his status as one of the foremost artists of his time. Baselitz Discussing His Career Condition ReportRequest Condition ReportThank youfor your request. The Condition Report will be sent shortly.Contact Us* RequiredSend me the Report ViaEmailFaxContact SpecialistCancelProvenanceGalerie Michael Werner, Cologne Hester Van Royen Private Collection, Dublin Galerie Haas, Berlin Michael Werner Gallery, New York and London Acquired from the above by the present ownerExhibite