Start time: 14:00
Guided tour with the participation of Jan Kudrna, chief curator of Telegraph Gallery.
A hundred years ago, the dominant force in European painting was German, particularly German Expressionism. Bright colours, broken and distorted shapes challenging lingering conservatism -this is perhaps how one could describe the movement that marked a turning point not only for European but also for world painting.
The two world wars, followed by the Cold War and the dramatic geopolitical divide between East and West, essentially ended the dominance of European painting. The art world was divided into two opposing shores during the last century, with abstract art forms developing on one and socialist realism, figurative painting and the tradition of studio teaching on the other. After 1990, however, a turning point came and a new generation of German artists, especially painters of the "Leipzig School", suddenly had the opportunity to experience both worlds. In the contemporary art world, this generation of artists made their mark not only in Germany and Europe, but also worldwide, and thus awakened a new interest in figurative painting.
It is therefore high time to examine what German painting looks like today, a century after its last heyday, when German Expressionism was one of the most important movements of modernism. The exhibition German Painting Now focuses on some of the most important contemporary German painters. Those who have been identified as members of the 'Leipzig School', as well as those who came later or worked outside its sphere of influence.
LIST OF AUTHORS
Tilo Baumgärtel, Jonas Burgert, Tim Eitel, Martin Eder, Volker Hüller, Michael Kunze, Daniel Richter, Christoph Ruckhäberle, David Schnell, Dennis Scholl, Kristina Schuldt, Matthias Weischer
More about the authors HERE
Curator Jane Neal
