Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Joseph Beuys @ Mary Boone Gallery

JOSEPH BEUYS
WE ARE THE REVOLUTION
until February 6, 2010
Installation
Courtesy Mary Boone Gallery

JOSEPH BEUYS: “WE ARE THE REVOLUTION" is a comprehensive exhibition of original works and multiples from the Hall Collection by this influential German artist. The exhibition has been organized and installed by independent curator and art historian Dr. Pamela Kort.

Beginning with a pencil drawing made while Beuys was still a student at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, through the notable “plastic work” (sculpture) Horn of 1969, to a suite of three large blackboards heavily inscribed during the course of Beuys’ “Action” Third Way in 1978, the original works provide a philosophical and iconographical context against which his numerous and well-known multiples unfolded over time.

The making of multiples was integral to Beuys’ life; he championed them as a vehicle for disseminating his aesthetic ideas to a wide audience, often utilizing commonplace found objects, materials and images that were familiar, yet loaded with personal significance (blood, fat, and felt chief amongst them). This exhibition includes over one hundred and seventy-five of Beuys’ multiples, including such exceptional and sought-after editions as Celtic (1971), as well as the iconic Sled (1969), Felt Suit (1970), and Capri Battery (1985). (press release excerpt)