Georg Baselitz: The Last Decade at the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM), with the support of Akbank, presents works by German painter, printmaker, and sculptor Georg Baselitz, a leading figure in contemporary art. The exhibition features close to one hundred large-scale paintings and sculptures created by Baselitz in the past decade, displayed throughout all gallery spaces and the garden of the SSM. Concurrently, a comprehensive selection of the artist's engravings is being showcased at Akbank Sanat.
Georg Baselitz has had a profound influence on the international art world since the 1980s, forging a new identity for German art in the aftermath of the Second World War. His unique style, characterised by his practice of painting compositions upside down since 1969, seeks to decontextualize form and stand between abstraction and figuration, thereby revolutionising a once traditional medium.
Georg Baselitz: The Last Decade presents recurring motifs that have shaped the artist's work over decades. Baselitz revisits the eagles of his childhood in Deutschbaselitz, a motif he has explored in various media since the 1950s, in a series set against blue backgrounds, culminating in a recent 2024 addition, displayed here for the first time. The deer, another enduring motif from his childhood, reappears as a central element of the mythological iconography that has long shaped his work. The recent Golden Hands series reflects his fascination with the cultural and historical symbolism of these limbs. Additionally, upside-down portraits of his wife Elke, a theme prevalent since the 1970s, are prominently featured. The exhibition highlights Springtime (2020), a series inspired by Dada artist Hannah Höch, where Baselitz collages nylon stockings onto inverted figures, lending a near-fetishistic significance to the stockings. Monumental sculptures in the galleries and garden complement the paintings, resonating with their iconography and historical themes.
Exhibition Catalogue
The exhibition is accompanied by the catalogue Georg Baselitz: The Last Decade, which includes essays by Norman Rosenthal, Beral Madra, Eric Darragon, and John-Paul Stonard, offering thoughtful insights into the artist and his practice. In his essay ‘Georg Baselitz Visits Istanbul’, Norman Rosenthal explores Baselitz’s inspirations – ranging from Mannerist art and the German Renaissance to twentieth century German cultural history – within the context of the innovative approaches and techniques he has developed in the last decade. Beral Madra’s contribution, ‘Body and Existence’, provides a comprehensive analysis of the different phases of Baselitz’s resilient artistic practice, examining his depictions of the human body, experiences, and thoughts; connecting them to various artistic movements. In ‘Baselitz Black or History as Background’, John-Paul Stonard delves into the role of historical themes and the colour black in Baselitz’s work, highlighting the formal and emotional transformations brought on by the Nazi regime, and exploring how the artist addresses violence, memory, and aesthetics through his use of black patina and inverted figures. Finally, in ‘Nylon Stockings Ballet’, Eric Darragon argues that Baselitz’s Springtime series offers an interpretation and critique that challenges traditional aesthetic values and social expectations, focusing on the provocative symbolism of nylon stockings and legs.
The exhibition is made possible by Akbank Sanat.
