ARTES BERLIN ∙ Auguststraße 19 ∙ 10117 Berlin
OPENING HOURS:
Tuesday to Friday: 11 am to 6 pm
Saturday: 12 pm to 6 pm, and by appointment
Phone: 030 / 28 88 38 69 ∙ Email: info@artesberlin.de
Norbert Bisky - Everyday Life of a Hero
Exhibition Duration: until 5 November 2022
ARTES Berlin presents a solo show featuring over 20 works by artist Norbert Bisky. The showcased pieces include unique pieces, watercolours, editions, and paintings, examining the early career of the Berlin-based artist.
Bisky is considered one of the most influential painters of the "New Figuration" movement. Growing up in East Germany, he was shaped by the flood of images of socialist realism. His artistic work is an experiment in the dissolution of forms and colour ground, sometimes venturing towards abstraction.
At the same time, we present works by Cornelia Schleime, Neo Rauch, and Gerhard Richter in our galleries.
Bisky knows no horror vacui, finding joy in white space, which becomes a (non)painting technique, devoid of lateral arabesques. About 100 years ago, Adolf Loos postulated that "ornament is a crime," a creed that Bisky particularly follows in his early works.
His oeuvre operates on multiple levels, oscillating between realism, abstraction, gestural painting, and colour groundwork. He employs these techniques to create a cheerful-yet-menacing vision: painted ambivalence.
The contrast between the joyfully polychromatic world and the young men engaged in play, struggle, and extreme situations fuels drama and dynamism. The viewer constantly wonders why escalation is necessary.
"I believe it's the tipping point, this explosion of possibilities. Freedom can also be threatening. Everything can change, for better or worse. I try to make the multi-layered moments and the frenzy visible in my paintings," Bisky responded in an interview when asked about a perceived threat in his artworks. He lives and works in Berlin.
