The exhibition showcases sculptures, paintings, drawings and sketches by Markus Lüpertz.
Markus Lüpertz
1985
Öl auf Leinwand
250 x 350 cm
Courtesy Collection MAP and Michael Werner Gallery, New York, London, and Märkisch Wilmersdorf
Markus Lüpertz
1981
Bronze bemalt, Auflage: 5+0, Guß e.a.
95 x 82 x 68 cm
Courtesy Collection MAP and Michael Werner Gallery, New York, London, and Märkisch Wilmersdorf
The works that brought him worldwide fame are being displayed in the enfilades on the third floor of the General Staff Building. Focus is placed on the series of bronze sculptures produced specially for the Hermitage show. Created in the last years of Lüpertz’s life, they interpret the art of Classical Greece and invite the public to follow the journey of ancient gods and heroes through time into the modern day.
Lüpertz believes that modern art has long lost its purely painterly aspect. He hopes to put an end to its stagnation period and fill the lacunae of traditional art with his works. In his latest works he makes an attempt to combine the aesthetics of ancient Greek art and Nietzsche’s concept of Dionysian beauty. According to Lüpertz, modern art is an immediate heir to the ancient Greek Dionysian principle. Works done in this vein are able to convey the thrill and excitement of ancient mysteries. The artist thinks that only the unconscious led by primal Dionysian impulses can represent truly new essence in art.
The exhibition has been jointly organized with the Michael Werner Gallery as part of the "Hermitage 20/21" programme.
