Jörg Immendorff, Untitled - rotes Pferd, Affe, Rad, 2002, Silkscreen on hand-made paper, 60 x 50 cm <br>
© The Estate of Jörg Immendorff
Photo: Achim Kukulies <br>
<br>
Jörg Immendorff (b. 1945 in Bleckede, d. 2007 in Düsseldorf), along with Markus Lüpertz and Georg Baselitz, belongs to the trailblazers of the New Wild and Fierce Painting movements that made a lasting impression on the German art scene at the beginning of the 1980s. He first studied stage design at the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts, and later studied free art with Joseph Beuys.<br>
<br>
Immendorff‘s admiration for his teacher is reflected in his art through humorous manipulation of this special relationship. What the rabbit represented for Joseph Beuys is represented by the motif of the ape for Jörg Immendorff; it is drawn through his work like a golden thread. <br>
<br>
Immendorff has portrayed himself, as he so often does, as a painter-ape with a paintbrush. The ape riding on the horse takes center stage in his graphic work “Untitled – rotes Pferd, Affe, Rad” The horse appears to stroll into the picture unfazed by events, and is silhouetted in high contrast before a luminously ocher-orange background. The ape appears timid and lost on the horse. In an interview, Immendorff said, “For me, the ape was and is simply a second self. Symbol for the ambivalence of the artist’s existence, of conviction and self-doubt. He is absurd and wise, and stands for polar opposites.” (Immendorff in conversation with Pamela Kort, 1992)