ABOUT

 

Martin Kippenberger led a brief but enormously productive and geographically varied life. Born in Germany, he studied art at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg, but lived thereafter in Berlin, Florence, New York and Rio de Janeiro. Described as a Neo-Dadaist for his energetic irreverence, Kippenberger worked freely in several mediums, including painting, sculpture, and poster and book arts.

He also explored a myriad of subject matter, commenting ironically on aspects of the art world including the role of the artist in current art production, the most prominent contemporary artists in Germany (Sigmar Polke, Joseph Beuys, and Georg Baselitz), as well as examinations of canonical art history. Unfortunately, his production was hindered by his alcoholism, and he died of cancer at the young age of 44.

He was one of the most influential German artists of his generation. Emerging alongside Albert Oehlen and Günther Förg, Kippenberger’s work often featured caustic commentary on the art world and reactionary takes on iconic art-historical tropes. “My style is where you see the individual and where a personality is communicated through actions, decisions, single objects and facts, where the whole draws together to form a history,” he once explained. Born on February 25, 1953 in Dortmund, Germany, he attended the Hochschule für Bildende Kunst where he was influenced by the work of Sigmar Polke. After graduating, he became a member of the burgeoning Cologne art scene and developed a reputation for his politically charged and provocative work. Though he employed a number of artistic disciplines, many of Kippenberger’s best-known works are paintings, including his series of self-portraits from 1988. Kippenberger’s life was cut short at the age of 44 on March 7, 1997 from liver cancer in Vienna, Austria. Posthumously, the artist has been subject of several exhibitions including the large-scale show “Martin Kippenberger: The Problem of Perspective” held at The Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2009. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Tate Gallery in London, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and the Migros Museum in Zurich, among others.

Exhibitions
 

2011

Eggman II, Skarstedt Gallery, New York, NY (solo)

2010

Pop Life - Warhol, Haring, Koons, Hirst, …, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
Amor Parvi oder Die Liebe zum Kleinen, Kunstverein Langenhagen, Langenhagen, Germany
Man Son 1969. Vom Schrecken der Situation, Villa Merkel & Bahnwärterhaus, Esslingen, Germany
So Be It: Interventions in Printed Matter, Andrew Roth Gallery, New York, NY
The Fate of Irony, KAI 10 Raum für Kunst , Dusseldorf, Germany
TWENTY FIVE, Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York, NY
Modèles modèles 2, Mamco - musée d´art moderne et contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland
Pop Life: Art in a Material World, National Gallery of Canada - Musée des beaux-arts du Canada, Ottawa, ON
Mike Kelley / Martin Kippenberger,\ Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Madrid, Spain
FischGrätenMelkStand, Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Wahrheit ist Arbeit, Villa Schöningen, Potsdam, Germany
Transzendenz Inc. Autocenter, Berlin, Germany
Taking Place, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Jeder Künstler ist ein Mensch, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany
Happy End, Kunsthalle Göppingen, Göppingen, Germany
Compass in hand, Selección de la Colección de dibujo contemporáneo de la Fundación Judith RSe Não Neste Tempo – Pintura Alemã Contemporânea: 1989-2010 - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand - MASP, São Pauloothschild - IVAM - Institut Valencià d'Art Modern, Valencia, Spain
Out Of the Office/ Ruhr 2010, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany
James Ensor-Hareng Saur: Ensor et l'art contemporain, SMAK Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Arts, Ghent, Belgium

2009

Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective MoMA – Museum of Modern Art in New York City, NY (solo)
Martin Kippenberger, Thomas Ammann Fine Art AG, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
Just what is it..., ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany
CThe Irreverent Object,” Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York City, NYarte Blanche IX: >Vor heimischer Kulisse<,Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst - GfZK, Leipzig, Germany

2008

Martin Kippenberger : Grässlin Art Space, St. Georgen, Germany (solo)
Martin Kippenberger: Livres et Ephemeras 1977-1997, Florence Loewy, Paris, France (solo)
Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective, MOCA, Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA(solo)

2007

The 80’s: A Topology,” Museum Serralves, Porto, Portugal
Martin Kippenberger, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne (solo)
Martin Kippenberger: Utopia for everyone, Kunsthaus Graz, Graz
Martin Kippenberger: Invitations and Posters 1977-1997, Dickinson Roundell Inc. New York, NY (solo)
Martin Kippenberger, Galerie Bleich-Rossi, Vienna (solo)

2006

Dieter Roth / Martin Kippenberger, Hauser & Wirth Coppermill, London, UK
Martin Kippenberger, Tate Modern, London, UK
Ihr Kippy Kippenberger, Baerbel Graesslin Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany
Make Your Own Life: Artists In & Out of Cologne, ICA: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

2005

The Bermuda Triangle, Syros to Dawson City: The First Connection and 40 Drawings from the Collection of Michel Wurthle, Foundation 20 21, New York, NY
Self-Portraits, Luhring Augustine, New York, NY
Flashback: Revisiting the Art of the Eighties, Kunstmuseum Museum for Gegenwartskunst, Basel, Switzerland

2003

Martin Kippenberger, Galerie Max Hetzler, Armory Show, New York, NY
Museum für neue Kunst ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany

2002

Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne, Germany
Sand in der Vaseline - Künstlerbücher ll : 1980-2000 Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld, Germany
Painting on the Move Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel, Switzerland
Los Excesos de la Mente Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo
Martin Kippenberger– Metro-Net Projects, Beaumont-Public + König-bloc, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Carnegie International 1999/2000, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg, PA
Martin Kippenberger– Hotel Drawings, David Zwirner, New York, NY

2001

Martin Kippenberger- ‘Bilder einer Ausstellung, Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Frankfurt, Germany
Intermedia - Dialog der Medien Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Siegen, Germany
Zero Gravity Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany
Wertwechsel - †ber den Wert des Kunstwerks Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln, Germany
Vom Eindruck zum Ausdruck - Grusslin Collection Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
Let's Entertain - Kunst macht Spass Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg, Germany

2000

Let's Entertain,Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Portland Art Musuem, Portland, OR
Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany
Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL
'Martin Kippenberger: Hotel Drawings and The Happy End of Franz Kafka's 'Amerika',' joint exhibition at The Smart Museum and The Renaissance Society, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Open Ends, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Many Colored Objects Placed Side by Side to Form a Row of Many Colored Objects, Casino Luxembourg, Belgium

1999

Apertutto, La Biennale di Venezia Venice, Italy
Malerei, INIT Kunst-Halle Berlin, Germany
Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, PA
Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic

1998

Castello Di Rivoli, Turin, Italy
MAK Center, Schindler House, Los Angeles, CA
Kunsthalle Basel, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Fast Forward, Kuntverein Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

1997

Home Sweet Home, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
Documenta X Kassel, Germany

1996

Martin Kippenberger's Villa Hugel for the spirit of the times, Villa Merkel, Galerien der Stadt Esslingen, Esslingen am Neckar, Germany

1994

Steirischer Herbst '94, Grazer Kunstverein, Graz, Austria
The Century of the Multiple: From Duchamp to the Present," Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
Temporary Translation(s): Sammlung Schurmann, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Germany
Cocido y Crudo, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain

1993

Artist's Books, Museum Haus Lange und Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany
Travelogue, Hochschule fuer Angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Austria

1992

Ars Pro Domo, Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany
Allegories of Modernism- Contemporary Drawing, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Avantgarde & Kampagne, Staedtische Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, Germany
Qui, Quoi, Ou?" Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France
Malen ist Wahlen," Kunstverein, Munich, Germany

1991

Objects for an Ideal Home, Serpentine Gallery, London, UK
Buchstaeblich, Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal, Germany

1990

Le Disenchantement du Monde, Villa Arson, Nice, France
Artificial Nature, The House of Cyprus, Athens, Greece

1989

Investigations, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
I Triennal de Dibuix Joan Miro, Joan Miro Foundation, Barcelona, Spain

1987

Berlinart 1961-1987," The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Room Enough , Ludwig Museum, Aachen, Grmany
Fotografie," Groninger Museum, The Netherlands

1985

Anniottanta, Gallerie Communale d'Arte, Moderna di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

1984

Kunstlandschaft Bundesrepublik, Kunstverein, Hamburg, Germany

Literature

2002

Gitarren, die nicht Gudrun heissen Holzwarth Publications, Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin 2002

2002

Kommentiertes Werkverzeichnis der Bücher Verlag der Buchandlung Walter König, Cologne 2002

2001

Vom Eindruck zum Ausdruck - Grässlin Collection Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Hamburg 2001

2000

Bei Nichtgefallen Gefühle zurück Die gesamten Karten 1989-1997, Cologne 2000

2000

No Drawing no Cry Cologne 2000

1999

The Happy End of Franz Kafka's 'Amerika' Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Hamburg 1999

1998

Martin Kippenberger: Die gesamten Plakate 1977-1997 Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich 1998

1998

Martin Kippenberger Kunsthalle Basel, Basel 1998

1998

The Last Stop West MAK Center / Schindler House Cantz Verlag, Stuttgart 1998