Wenda GU
Gu Wenda, Chinese ink, 1985 A common thread running through Gu Wenda’s oeuvre is the disruption of inequality. His self-created pseudo-language includes illegible so-called Chinese characters, with which the artist points out the limits of communication and manipulation of language. The Chinese authority, not susceptible to imaginary ideograms, forbade him in 1986 to open his […]
Makoto NAKAMURA & Shigeo FUKUDA
Makoto Nakamura & Shigeo Fukuda, collage, 1971 The Japanese artists Makoto Nakamura and Shigeo Fukuda developed a ‘Games of visual art’ from the advertising world. They led a visual language of contradictions where objects and images engage in an optical battle. In the margins of art they manipulate the grid of photography and their work […]
George SEGAL
George Segal, plaster, 1982 The American artist George Segal became famous in the 1960s with pure white plaster sculptures. He wrapped living models in plaster bandages and created his hardened casts directly into art. He placed his figures in a realistic environment, combined with everyday objects. This method of presentation showed a close connection with […]
Jianhua LIU
Liu Jianhua, porcelain, 2001 Chinese artist Liu Jianhua works mainly with porcelain, a delicate and technically challenging material. Economic and social changes are the common thread throughout his oeuvre. Tradition versus evolution. On the one hand, the artist clings to the refinement and preciousness of Chinese porcelain, while on the other hand he criticizes the […]
Mario MERZ
Mario Merz, collage, spray paint and crayon on paper, 1984 The Italian artist Mario Merz is one of the best-known representatives of Arte Povera. This “poor art” responded to the consumerism of modern man and the loss of its ecological connection. Through the combination of natural and synthetic materials he brings art closer to everyday […]
Ry ROCKLEN
Ry Rocklen, mixed media, 2008 The American contemporary artist Ry Rocklen makes avid use of discarded objects. Inspired by the readymade concept and following Arte Povera, he creates his objects and installations. His focus is on the aesthetic and mystical qualities of the materials he finds. His working method is like a tribute to what […]
Jean RUSTIN
Jean Rustin, oil on canvas, 1996 In the early 1970s, the French artist Jean Rustin made a complete turnaround in his career, he exchanged his abstract painting style for a totally innovative figurative visual language. With a virtuoso technique and an extraordinary colour palette, he painted his peculiar nudes. The bare genitals, often in a […]
Zhijie QIU
Qiu Zhijie, c-print, 1994 The Chinese artist Qiu Zhijie, like many other dissidents, had his international breakthrough in the 1990s. By using traditional techniques combined with new technological media, he broke away from the imposed dogmas in his country. In his work he contrasts word and image and blurs the line between fiction and reality. […]
Tom WESSELMANN
Tom Wesselmann, oil on canvas, 1975 Tom Wesselmann is one of the key figures in American pop art, known for his earliest collages on canvas. Radiators, towels, wallpaper and other domestic objects were the precursors that occupied his interiors with his American nudes as still lifes. Typical of Wesselmann’s later drawing and painting style were […]
GILBERT & GEORGE
Gilbert & George, unique c-print in metal frame, 1991 The British-Italian artist duo Gilbert & George met in their student days and have been inseparable ever since. Their life and work are intertwined into one and comprise a diversity of visual material. In their British suits, they perform in numerous performances as living statues. With […]