Georg Baselitz (was born in 1938 in Saxony) is one of the founders of the German Neo-expressionism.
The exhibition presents paintings, drawings, watercolours of the last two decades. The major part of the works belongs to the collection of the Albertina Museum (Vienna, Austria) which made it possible for the Russian Museum to show the artist's works to the citizens of Saint-Petersburg who know his painting «Bottle and Eagle» (1977-1978) very well. This very work is a part of the collection of the Ludwig Museum at the Russian Museum.
Having started his career at the turn of the 1950-1960-ies as a provocative, scandalous artist who criticized abstract art, Baselitz was experimenting with object painting and demonstrating his rejection of contemporary art, and was not the only artist who did it. The «Neue Wilde» movement Baselitz associated himself with, took inspiration mainly from classical German Expressionism, claiming to return to the figurative art, colour, spontaneous methods of making an art work. Baselitz's paintings were breaking stereotypes turning them «upside down». It was the artist's favorite technique.
In this sense the works by Georg Baselitz from the iconic series and exhibitions dated 2000-ies such as «Monumental Watercolours» at the Albertina Museum (Vienna, 2003), «Remix» at the Pinakothek (Munich, 2006), «Russian Paintings» at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Seoul, 2007) and others are radical but at the same time natural phenomena.
Baselitz's spiral development as an artist makes it impossible to divide his art into the early and the late periods. What is more significant is the artist's return to the same fundamental aspects, the same themes and stories. In the first place Baselitz is interested in the artistic form rather than the interpretation of a story.
On the one hand it indicates the dialogue between the artist and his destiny, and the close look at his programme works that defined his place in the art scene in the 1960-ies. On the other hand, it is the conversation with the contemporary art, especially German art, acknowledged and appreciated; the contemplative conversation about the possibilities and limits of art, its place in the system of the controversial powers and influences.
