Georg Baselitz

“Hommage à Georg Baselitz”
CFA, Berlin

What the Gallery Says: “It all began in Berlin, at that time still a divided city. In 1963 Baselitz had a show at Galerie Werner & Katz. A scandal resulted; two paintings were confiscated for allegedly lewd motifs. Since then, Baselitz’s work has remained provocative. He painted ‘Heroes’ who were not heroes, but rather those that found themselves helpless in the no man’s land of the two Germanys after dictatorship and war… His breakthrough came with international exhibitions in the USA, France, UK, and Switzerland. Since then, each series of work bears reference to Baselitz’s first 20 years of artistic production, like concentric circles around the essence of his practice. With the ‘Remix’ series in 2005 Baselitz discovered a fruitful method of revisiting earlier work, stripping it of old vices. Today his work is infused by presence of mind, virtuosity, a plenitude of associations, mastery, and skill. This exhibition brings together selected examples of Baselitz’s accomplishments from 1963 to the present.”

Why It’s Worth a Look: Marking the artist’s 80th birthday, this exhibition brings together significant works loaned from institutions and private collections, spanning the breadth of Baselitz’s long career. One of Germany’s most significant and celebrated artists, Baselitz is a part of a generation of artists that reinvented German painting in an era that was struggling to come to terms with the repercussions of World War II. Baselitz (and his contemporaries) opened a floodgate of creativity that was repressed by the Third Reich’s state censorship apparatus; unleashing a wave of radical artwork that wrestled with the guilt of a nation and shouldered the responsibility of redirecting its artistic legacy. Baselitz’s candor, propensity for risk, and technical rigor influenced generations of German painters.

What It Looks Like: 

Installation view of Georg Baselitz’s “Hommage à Georg Baselitz” at CFA, Berlin. Photo: courtesy of CFA, Berlin.

George Baselitz, Kopf (1963). Image courtesy the Hoffmann Collection.

George Baselitz, Beatrice (1964). Image courtesy private collection.

George Baselitz, Das Blumenmädchen (1965). Image courtesy the Hoffmann Collection.

Georg Baselitz, Ein moderner Maler (1966). Photo courtesy of Berlinische Galerie and CFA, Berlin.

George Baselitz, Ein Grüner (1966). Image courtesy ACT Art Collection.

George Baselitz, Drei Streifen—Der Maler im Mantel (Zweites Frakturbild) (1966). Image courtesy private collection.

George Baselitz, Katzenkopf (1967). Image a private collection.

George Baselitz, Kopf (1982). Image courtesy Dada Held-Poschardt.

George Baselitz, Ade Nymphe I (1998). Image courtesy Döpfner Collection.

George Baselitz, Modern Painter (Remix) (2007). Courtesy of Berlinishe Galerie, Museum für moderne und zeitgenössische Kunst in Berlin, Fotografie, Architektur, Künstler-Archive.

George Baselitz, Abwärts I (2017). Image courtesy Döpfner Collection.

George Baselitz, Blauer Kopf (1983). Image courtesy Kunsthalle Bielefeld.

Installation view of Georg Baselitz’s “Hommage à Georg Baselitz” at CFA, Berlin. Photo: courtesy of CFA, Berlin.

Installation view of Georg Baselitz’s “Hommage à Georg Baselitz” at CFA, Berlin. Photo: courtesy of CFA, Berlin.

Installation view of Georg Baselitz’s “Hommage à Georg Baselitz” at CFA, Berlin. Photo: courtesy of CFA, Berlin.

“Hommage à Georg Baselitz” by Georg Baselitz is on view at CFA, Berlin through Mach 3, 2018.

CFA is located at Grolmanstraße 32/33, 10623 Berlin.