Go See (with Video): Martin Kippenberger Retrospective at MoMA, New York, through May 11, 2009

March 3rd, 2009


Martin Kippenberger – Spiderman Studio (1996) at MoMA.  Photo (c) Jason Mandella.

Twelve years after his death at age 44, Martin Kippenberger collectors and fans can rest easy knowing his prolific work is well-represented in MoMA’s retrospective exhibition, organized by Ann Goldstein of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and Ann Temkin, MoMA’s chief curator of painting and sculpture.  The German artist, known for his hard living, experimentation, disobedience, and loyalty, managed to amass an astounding amount of work in relatively short career, including paintings, photographs, posters, books, music, and installation work.

MoMA
Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective
March 1-May 11, 2009
The Joan and Preston Robert Tisch Exhibition Gallery, 6th Floor

RELATED LINKS

Exhibition page [MoMA]
Art Review: Martin Kippenberger at MoMA [New York Times]
The Ford Capri as an Artist’s Muse [New York Times “Wheels” Blog]
Taking a Toll: The Art World [New Yorker]
The Artist Who Did Everything [NYMag]
Open Bar Leads to Coat-Check Fiasco at MoMA Kippenberger Retrospective [NYMag]
Kippenberger’s Giant Egg, Likable Communist at MoMA: Review [Bloomberg]
Jill Krementz Photo Journal – Martin Kippenberger [NY Social Diary]
MoMA Presents Major U.S. Retrospective of Influential German Artist Martin Kippenberger [Art Daily]
Martin Kippenberger at MoMA Major US Retrospective [FAD]
Martin Kippenberger Opening at MoMA New York [Panache]

More images, information, and video footage after the jump…


Martin Kippenberger – Untitled (1981) at MoMA. Courtesy of MoMA.


Martin Kippenberger – Down with Inflation (1984) at MoMA. Via New York Social Diary.

Two of Kippenberger’s large-scale installations are featured in the exhibition, Spiderman Studio on the sixth floor and The Happy End of Franz Kafka’s “Amerika,” arguably his most ambitious piece, in the second floor atrium.  What’s fascinating to observe in the artist’s work is the deference he pays to previous masters (Spiderman Studio is a nod to Henri Matisse, for example, and the three 1988 self-portraits reference Picasso) while avoiding outright mimicry or derision.  As critic Jerry Saltz noted, “he’s obviously battling with art history, especially the German variety,” but in a manner that is unique and distinctly influential to his own generation of artists.

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Video of MoMA’s retrospective exhibition, shot by Blip.tv.


Martin Kippenberger, The Happy End of Franz Kafka’s “Amerika” (1994) at MoMA.


Co-Curator Ann Goldstein in front of Dear Painter, Paint for Me (1981). Via New York Social Diary


Co-Curator Ann Temkin next to Untitled from the series Raft of Medusa (1991).  Via New York Social Diary


Selected posters from 1978-1997.  Via New York Social Diary