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During his lifetime he was controversial, but now the German performance and installation artist, sculptor, graphic artist, art theorist, pedagogue of art and politician Joseph Beuys is regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. His words “Every man is an artist” are cited again and again, not only by art art lovers.

Currently, PaceWildenstein in New York presents “Joseph Beuys: Make the Secrets Productive”, an exhibition of twelve sculptures, dating from the 1950s through the end of his career. Over 90 black and white photographs taken by Ute Klophaus, documenting eleven of the artist’s “Aktion” works, will be shown alongside four of these iconic happenings on film. The installation will also feature a separate screening room showcasing rare footage and interviews with Joseph Beuys.

In this video we have a look at this extraordinary exhibition and PaceWildenstein President Marc Glimcher and Director Birte Kleemann tell us how this show came about.

Among the works are Jeder Mensch ist ein Künstler (Make the Secrets Productive), a 1977 text-based sculpture painted on wood paneling with Braunkreuz, an earthy-looking substance Beuys created by combining household paint and hare’s blood. This important work of art indoctrinates each visitor with the Beuysian ideology that “every man is an artist” and its message is the anchor for the larger exhibition, which features a number of unique sculptures that have never before been presented in the United States. Among the sculptures are Feldbett (1982), OFEN (1983-85), Tisch mit Aggregat, Tisch 2 Pole, and Doppelaggregat. For more information visit PaceWildenstein’s website.

Joseph Beuys: Make the Secrets Productive at PaceWildenstein, 25th Street, New York, runs until April 10, 2010.  A catalogue with essays by Heiner Bastian, Prof. Dr. Joachim Pissarro, Bershad Professor of Art History and Director of the Hunter College Galleries, and Prof. Dr. Eugen Blume, head of the Hamburg Bahnhof, Museum for Contemporary Art, Berlin, will accompany the exhibition. Currently, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, has dedicated one of its fourth floor galleries to an ongoing exhibition dedicated to Joseph Beuys. The focus of this installation centers on the museum’s recent acquisition of five vitrines created by the artist, with works dating from 1942 and 1982.

Joseph Beuys: Make the Secrets Productive / PaceWildenstein, New York. Private View, March 4, 2010.

PS: See also VernissageTV’s coverage of the exhibition mentioned in this segment, Joseph Beuys. We are the Revolution / Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin. Other Beuys related videos.

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Related Articles:

• Joseph Beuys and His Students at Sakıp Sabancı Museum Istanbul
• Beuys. We are the Revolution / Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin

On the occasion of the 100th year of Deutsche Bank’s presence in Turkey, Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) hosts an exhibition entitled “Joseph Beuys and His Students – Works from the Deutsche Bank Collection” from 9 September until 1 November 2009.

The exhibition is the first to combine works on paper by Joseph Beuys with drawings, photographs and prints by his most important students: Peter Angermann, Lothar Baumgarten, Walter Dahn, Felix Droese, Imi Giese, Jörg Immendorff, Anselm Kiefer, Imi Knoebel, Inge Mahn, Ulrich Meister, Meuser, Blinky Palermo, Katharina Sieverding and Norbert Tadeusz. The show has been curated by Deutsche Bank Art Director Friedhelm Hütte and art critic Ahu Antmen.

In this video, Nazan Ölçer, Directrice of the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum, and Britta Färber of Deutsche Bank Art talk about the museum and the current exhibition.

More information is available at Deutsche Bank ArtMag.

“Joseph Beuys and His Students – Works from the Deutsche Bank Collection” runs until November 1, 2009.

Joseph Beuys and His Students at Sakıp Sabancı Museum Istanbul. Opening and Press Tour, September 8 and 11, 2009.

PS: Special thanks to Niko Bischoff!

Sabancı Üniversitesi Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi (SSM), Türkiye’deki 100. yılını kutlayan Deutsche Bank’ın işbirliğiyle, 09 Eylül – 01 Kasım 2009 tarihleri arasında, “Joseph Beuys ve Öğrencileri – Deutsche Bank Koleksiyonu’ndan Seçmeler” başlıklı sergiye ev sahipliği yapıyor.

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The “Cult of the Artist” is the major theme of the current exhibitions of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin): the artist as the core mythical figure of the Western world. While the New National Gallery celebrates Paul Klee and Jeff Koons, the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart turns the spotlight on Joseph Beuys (1921-1986), one of the most charismatic and controversial figures of the world of art. Twenty years after the last major exhibition of Joseph Beuys’ in Germany, the exhibition shows key works and various documents, writings, films and photographs.
Joseph Beuys. Wir sind die Revolution. Hamburger Bahnhof. Opening reception, October 2, 2008. Video by Lizza May David.

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The exhibition “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” at the Kunstmuseum in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, explores contemporary artistic representations of body/soul, body/mind, matter/consciousness. On display are works by Marina Abramovic/Ulay, Absalon, Samuel Beckett, Joseph Beuys, Andrea Fraser, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Dan Graham, Kimsooja, Korpys/Löffler, Thomas Lehnerer, Matt Mullican, Bruce Nauman, Gabriel Orozco, Kristine Oßwald, and Gina Pane. The show, curated by Christiane Meyer-Stoll, shows how, since the 1960s, artists have intensely focused on corporeality, on the border between “I” and the world, between the individual and the social, and have investigated how our realities are structured.
In this video curator Christiane Meyer-Stoll talks about the idea behind the exhibition and explains the concept of the show on the basis of two works: the Yielding Stone (Piedra que cede, 1992) by Gabriel Orozco, and an untitled work (Portrait of Dad, 1991) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres.
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door runs until January 18, 2009. The show is accompanied by several related events and in the exhibition’s context Matt Mullican presents video works in the nearby church Johanniterkirche Feldkirch, Liechtenstein (from October 17 until December 27, 2008).
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz. Opening, September25, 2008.

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