Contemporary German Art: Recent Acquisitions

January 17 - April 20, 2003

This exhibition displays works by contemporary German artists acquired by the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum over the last two years. Artworks by Franz Ackermann, Günther Förg, Candida Höfer, Katharina Sieverding, and Wolfgang Tillmans has been added to the Kemper Art Museum's international collection as part of an acquisition program that aims to balance the University's holdings in contemporary American art and represent major international trends in contemporary art that are based on the exploration of new media, particularly photography.

The prevailing American perception of modern and postmodern German art is of works created in a subjective, emotional, and highly individualistic mode. In contrast to the expressionistic and neoexpressionistic efforts of such artists as Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Nolde, Georg Baselitz, and Anselm Kiefer, the artists represented here focus on new media, employ everyday materials, and use unconventional art forms. These artists, working in an international style, respond in their work to the increasing importance of popular culture, mass media, and the radicalization of political tensions in the latter half of the twentieth century and beyond.