From March 9th until April 25th 2009 EL SOURDOG HEX e.V. will be presenting Markus Lüpertz's "Dithyrambic Paintings" (1967-1971).

Lüpertz studied art from 1956 to 1961, first at the Werkkunstschule Krefeld (Germany) and later at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. At the age of 21, he relocated to West Berlin where he, Bernd Koberling and Karl Horst Hödicke co-founded in 1964 the legendary artists' cooperative "Galerie Großgörschen 35."
Unlike so many of his contemporaries, who tended to favor abstract forms of painting, Markus Lüpertz focused on more representational imagery and identifiable forms. The result are expressive works, known as "dithyrambic paintings". In 1968, he published a manifesto on the subject entitled "Die Anmut des 20. Jahrhunderts wird durch die von mir erfundene Dithyrambe sichtbar gemacht."
His work is characterized overall by large scale canvases and images. Here, familiar subject matter is dramatically altered through extreme close-ups, formal simplicity and repetition. In 1986, Lüpertz accepted a professorship at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and has served as the institution' s director since 1988.

"In 1966, he coined the term . dithyrambic painting' taken from the ancient word "dithyramb" referring to ecstatic songs and rituals honoring Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, fertility and ecstasy. Until 1976, he continued to use the word 'dithyrambic' to describe his images." (as cited in the Lexikon der Kunst, published by the Dörfler Verlag)

"(...) His first volume of poetry was published in 1975 and his debut in set design came with the 1982 production of the opera Vincent, which ran at the Stadttheater in Kassel (Kassel theatre). In 1976, he assumed a professorship at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Karlsruhe (German academy of fine arts in Karlsruhe) (...)" (as cited by: www.kunstmarkt.de)

"I'm consumed by orange and rust
Shades from orange to rust
My manna
Feuerbach, a pool of fire
From orange to rust
Adding bits of blue to gray
Ochre just won't do"
(Gohr, Siegfried (Hg.): Narziß und Echo, Texte - Reden - Gedichte 1961-2004 Markus Lüpertz, Münster 2008, Kleinheinrich MMVII, p.27)

Markus Lüpertz is one of the most significant artists in Germany today.
He lives and works in Berlin and Düsseldorf.

Cited works and further reading:
Gallwitz, Klaus: Markus Lüpertz 'Eine Festschrift' Bilder, Gouachen und Zeichnungen 1967-1973, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden 1973
Gohr, Siegfried: Markus Lüpertz: Gemälde und Handzeichnungen 1964-1979, Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle, Cologne 1980
Gohr, Siegfried (Hg.): Narziß und Echo, Texte - Reden - Gedichte 1961-2004 Markus Lüpertz, Münster 2008, Kleinheinrich MMVII, p.27
Hofmann, Werner; Holsten, Siegmar: Markus Lüpertz, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg 1977
Kneubühler, Theo; Gachnang, Johannes; Schmidt, Marianne: Markus Lüpertz - Dithyrambische und Stil-Malerei, Kunsthalle Bern, 1977 Lexikon der Kunst, Dörfler, 2006, p. 336