Contemporary Painting

Figurative painting has been booming the last ten years. The demand on the international art market is unflagging, above all for the so-called „Leipzig School“. Numerous shows have been dedicated to particular positions or groups, but were mostly confined to Germany. „Back to the Figure – Contemporary Painting“ presents this tendency for the first time on a large international scale. The exhibition was conceived by the Munich Kunsthalle of the Hypo Cultural Foundation and now appears on its second venue in Burgdorf. It offers a representative sample of current figurative painting with more than 40 artists from 12 countries.

The paintings on display were selected according to two main criteria. Firstly, the exhibition concentrates entirely on the image of human beings; secondly, it is strictly limited to contemporary production. „Young art instead of young artists“ is the motto. The age of the artist was not the deciding factor in the selection process, but the dating of the piece. All the paintings in the show were produced in the 21st century.

The exhibition spawns interesting discourses between the different generations that it encompasses: the most recent works of predecessors and successors, teachers and students are displayed side by side. The paintings spanning from the exhibition’s oldest artist, Maria Lassnig (born 1919), to the youngest, Johannes Tiepelmann (born 1979), form a colorful kaleidoscope of figurative painting in the 21st century.

Opening Reception at the museum franz gertsch: Friday October 13th, 2006 at 6.30pm

Site Hypo-Kunsthalle Munich www.hypo-kunsthalle.de