Markus Lüpertz: Symbols and Metamorphoses

When: 27.03.2014 - 26.05.2014

Where: General Staff Building

About

The works that brought him worldwide fame are being displayed in the enfilades on the third floor of the General Staff Building. Focus is placed on the series of bronze sculptures produced specially for the Hermitage show. Created in the last years of Lüpertz’s life, they interpret the art of Classical Greece and invite the public to follow the journey of ancient gods and heroes through time into the modern day.

Lüpertz believes that modern art has long lost its purely painterly aspect. He hopes to put an end to its stagnation period and fill the lacunae of traditional art with his works. In his latest works he makes an attempt to combine the aesthetics of ancient Greek art and Nietzsche’s concept of Dionysian beauty. According to Lüpertz, modern art is an immediate heir to the ancient Greek Dionysian principle. Works done in this vein are able to convey the thrill and excitement of ancient mysteries. The artist thinks that only the unconscious led by primal Dionysian impulses can represent truly new essence in art.