Inaugural exhibition Markus Lüpertz - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

It smells like oil paint in here. My mind was still reeling from the black mass in the courtyard.  The Per Kirkeby sculpture expressed the affectation of spiritual primordial mud, locked in a patinated bronze. I later learned that it was a version of first century marble of Laokoön, the Trojan Priest from Greek and Roman Mythology. Kirkeby seems to have been sculpting a version from the original as some painters use another painting, photograph or printed image as a point of departure. Think Joan Miro’s Dutch Interior I from 1928 and his point of departure, artist Hendrick Sorgh’s paintings. How exactly does difference manifest between Cezanne and Bouguereau and more importantly, what can be gleaned from it? Though the context is different, a similar question could be asked of Kirkeby and the first century sculpture.

Markus Lüpertz , Untitled, 2016; Mixed media on canvas in artist’s frame

Markus Lüpertz , Orpheus, 2014; Mixed media on canvas in artist’s frame

Lüpertz was born in 1941 and known for his significant contributions to contemporary painting, particularly in the domain of Neo-Expressionism and post-war German art. He was Born in Dürrenzimmern, Germany and experienced the effects of World War II during his childhood, the trauma of which imprinted itself and to this day contributes to the expressive, leaden heft of his paintings. 

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes , Homme debout de dos (Man, Back View), 1879-1882

Lüpertz’s engagement with Pierre Puvis began in 2011 and the paintings date from 2013, spanning about a decade. In many ways, they’re reconfigurations or remixes of de Chavannes paintings, but more importantly they’re a specific and direct conversation between two painters.  Given the current state of  contemporary painting as a dull, undifferentiated field of noise that seems to have gotten comfortable being toothless and takes its own existence for granted (with many exceptions obviously), it was wildly radical to see this type of clarity at this volume and with enough teeth to spare. 

Markus Lüpertz , Rotes Boot (Red Boat), 2013; Mixed media on canvas in artist’s frame

There’s just no formula to explain why a painting is good or why a painter excels.  It’s an ineffable transmission, intangible and most clearly experienced without the bridge of spoken or written language. It’s just known.  It’s known in the same way a writer is known to be a gifted storyteller. They envelop you in their narration before you even know you’re being seduced.  They anticipate everything about the fullness and complexity of you as a receiver. There are people who walk the earth as painters and it’s known through the expression of their work and their work alone that they’re fucking good at it. Lüpertz is one of them. It’s difficult to place his work in a contemporary context, probably because they felt so different from most of what I’ve seen in the past eight years (the undifferentiated field of noise, with many exceptions of course). It was much needed and very, very welcomed.

Markus Lüpertz , Narziss II (Narcissus II), 2016; Mixed media on canvas in artist’s frame

Aside from being enthralled and invigorated, I was stunlocked by the intensity that Lüpertz’s work demanded to be considered outside of the context of contemporary painting (the undifferentiated field).  It will take time for me to understand exactly what the distinction is, but I left those paintings thinking that they somehow live within a separate domain of production that emerges from within history.  Lüpertz paints within history.  Many artists, some of whom I know, would do awful things to each other to be included in this company. Some have the guts and vision to demand it, yet lack the teeth and the nerve to rise and develop against the current.  To others, the possibility goes unnoticed.  Lüpertz has obviously risen to the challenge and while doing so, he has given those with the gift of a vision a type of cipher that wordlessly communicates the ineffable payoff that a lifetime commitment to painting can bring.

Markus Lüpertz , Lido, 2020; Mixed media on canvas in artist’s frame

Michael Werner Gallery, Beverly Hills is pleased to present its inaugural exhibition Markus Lüpertz - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, highlighting recent paintings by German post-war artist Markus Lüpertz (b. 1941 in Liberec, Bohemia) as well as paintings and drawings by 19th century French master Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (b. 1824 in Lyon, d. 1898 in Paris). In the exhibition, the artists, born over a hundred years apart, are presented in direct dialogue with one another.

Lüpertz has been engaged with Puvis de Chavannes since 2011, connecting himself to a lineage of important, renowned artists who have been inspired by the great French master. During his lifetime, Puvis de Chavannes pushed forward modernism and influenced the work of Seurat, Gauguin, and Cézanne. Posthumously, he influenced Matisse as well as Picasso’s Blue Period. Van Gogh called him the “master of us all.”

The paintings by Lüpertz in the exhibition date from 2013 and chart his exchange with Puvis de Chavannes over the ensuing decade. At times, Lüpertz pays homage by incorporating objects and figures from Puvis de Chavannes’s paintings into his compositions. Other times, he simply evokes the unique, mystic classicism that permeates the works of Puvis de Chavannes. Lüpertz’s paintings are complemented by an impressive array of drawings and paintings by Puvis de Chavannes, some of which are landscapes, preparatory drawings for commissions, epic scenes, and portraiture.