Norbert Bisky
„Titanenschlacht“
Artist
Norbert Bisky
Additional Description
Öl auf Leinwand. 2003. Ca. 110 x 300 cm. Verso auf der Leinwand zweifach signiert und datiert sowie betitelt.
Period
(1970 Leipzig)
Technique
Paintings
Ausstellung
Norbert Bisky. Ich war's nicht, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin 2007/08, farb. Abb. S. 18 f.
Provenance
Privatsammlung, Schweiz.
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Description
- "Battle of the Titans" is one of Bisky's internationally sought-after, large-format paintings from the early 2000s
- Exciting and multi-layered depiction with several levels of meaning
- Norbert Bisky's works are collected worldwide and can be seen at the Museum Ludwig, Cologne, the Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig, and the MoMA in New York, among others
Norbert Bisky is one of the most important representatives of postmodern realism. Born in Leipzig in 1970 and raised in the GDR, he is very familiar with the works of socialist realism, but in his own paintings he critically examines the heroic poses and idealized bodies of GDR state art.
This large-format scene is bathed in bright, almost glistening sunlight, in which tanned youths at first glance appear to be wrestling with each other. But is this really harmless wrestling? The figures appear too uniform and well-trained, the composition of the picture too elaborate - evoking associations with the organized cheerfulness of totalitarian youth organizations. On closer inspection, one notices how seemingly playful gestures turn into aggressive actions. The two boys sitting in the corners of the picture, watching the action coolly and impassively with their rifles raised, also cause unease - what kind of abysmal ritual is depicted here?
The tension between cheerful colors and ominous details characterizes Norbert Bisky's early creative phase, so only on the surface does the depiction appear harmless and carefree; on closer inspection, it proves to be an illusory world full of dangers and abysses.
The "Battle of the Titans" is a mythological tale handed down by ancient writers in which the ancient gods, the Titans, wrestle with Zeus and his siblings for supremacy in Olympus. So is it the idealized imagery of socialist realism that is to be conquered here?
With a photographic expertise signed by the artist from Atelier Norbert Bisky, Berlin, dated 8.6.2019.
- Exciting and multi-layered depiction with several levels of meaning
- Norbert Bisky's works are collected worldwide and can be seen at the Museum Ludwig, Cologne, the Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig, and the MoMA in New York, among others
Norbert Bisky is one of the most important representatives of postmodern realism. Born in Leipzig in 1970 and raised in the GDR, he is very familiar with the works of socialist realism, but in his own paintings he critically examines the heroic poses and idealized bodies of GDR state art.
This large-format scene is bathed in bright, almost glistening sunlight, in which tanned youths at first glance appear to be wrestling with each other. But is this really harmless wrestling? The figures appear too uniform and well-trained, the composition of the picture too elaborate - evoking associations with the organized cheerfulness of totalitarian youth organizations. On closer inspection, one notices how seemingly playful gestures turn into aggressive actions. The two boys sitting in the corners of the picture, watching the action coolly and impassively with their rifles raised, also cause unease - what kind of abysmal ritual is depicted here?
The tension between cheerful colors and ominous details characterizes Norbert Bisky's early creative phase, so only on the surface does the depiction appear harmless and carefree; on closer inspection, it proves to be an illusory world full of dangers and abysses.
The "Battle of the Titans" is a mythological tale handed down by ancient writers in which the ancient gods, the Titans, wrestle with Zeus and his siblings for supremacy in Olympus. So is it the idealized imagery of socialist realism that is to be conquered here?
With a photographic expertise signed by the artist from Atelier Norbert Bisky, Berlin, dated 8.6.2019.