2010–2013: BAWAG CONTEMPORARY
Hans-Peter Feldmann
21/6/2012—26/8/2012
Hans-Peter Feldmann (born 1941 in Düsseldorf) became well-known in the early 1970s for his extensive photo series that opened the door to images of everyday life. These collections, often presented in the form of books, posters, postcards, and installations, reveal Feldmann's lifelong enthusiasm for gathering visual worlds.
Feldmann grew up in post-war Germany, a time when photographic images were rare. During his formative years, he witnessed the explosion of visual culture that accompanied the rise of consumer society. His works from that period reflect his intense engagement with the nature of the images around him. His "Sunday Pictures," which confront us with a series of clichés about happiness and beauty, are characteristic of the visual repertoire found in magazines, brochures, posters, and postcards of the time.
Hans-Peter Feldmann has produced numerous artist books. His publications played a significant role in establishing the genre as a form of artistic creation and have influenced generations of artists after him. Among his earliest works is a series of brochures titled Bilder, each containing a collection of photographs on a specific theme or everyday situation. Feldmann’s unpretentious relationship with photographic images combines the seriality of conceptual art with the pop-art characteristic use of popular culture images. In his time series from the mid-1970s, Feldmann pursued this approach further by presenting image after image of the most banal events in chronological order, effectively slowing down the passage of time.
Feldmann uses found objects, which he transforms into simple and humorous works. In the early 1980s, he began painting classical figurines in bright, bold colors. The figures, full of the humor that can be felt in many of his works, playfully question the dream of ideal beauty on which the traditions of Western art are based.In the past decade, Hans-Peter Feldmann’s attention has shifted from photographic images to painting. Feldmann transforms conventional portraits by painting red noses or cross-eyed faces. With small interventions, he changes the images and undermines connotations of wealth and social status. Female nudes are also among the preferred genres of the collector. By covering eyes or gender with black bars, he points to the societal contradictions placed upon the female body. Recently, Feldmann has been searching for paintings that only depict the sea and sky. As with many of the artist's works, these carefully assembled collections highlight similarities and differences, and deal with the wealth of variations that arise from a familiar theme.
The exhibition at BAWAG Contemporary includes works from various phases of Feldmann's career. His works have been widely exhibited, including solo exhibitions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2011), the Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2010), the Arnolfini, Bristol (2007), and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1992). His works have also been featured in numerous group exhibitions, such as documenta 6 (1977) and the Venice Biennale (2009, 2003).
Feldmann grew up in post-war Germany, a time when photographic images were rare. During his formative years, he witnessed the explosion of visual culture that accompanied the rise of consumer society. His works from that period reflect his intense engagement with the nature of the images around him. His "Sunday Pictures," which confront us with a series of clichés about happiness and beauty, are characteristic of the visual repertoire found in magazines, brochures, posters, and postcards of the time.
Hans-Peter Feldmann has produced numerous artist books. His publications played a significant role in establishing the genre as a form of artistic creation and have influenced generations of artists after him. Among his earliest works is a series of brochures titled Bilder, each containing a collection of photographs on a specific theme or everyday situation. Feldmann’s unpretentious relationship with photographic images combines the seriality of conceptual art with the pop-art characteristic use of popular culture images. In his time series from the mid-1970s, Feldmann pursued this approach further by presenting image after image of the most banal events in chronological order, effectively slowing down the passage of time.
Feldmann uses found objects, which he transforms into simple and humorous works. In the early 1980s, he began painting classical figurines in bright, bold colors. The figures, full of the humor that can be felt in many of his works, playfully question the dream of ideal beauty on which the traditions of Western art are based.In the past decade, Hans-Peter Feldmann’s attention has shifted from photographic images to painting. Feldmann transforms conventional portraits by painting red noses or cross-eyed faces. With small interventions, he changes the images and undermines connotations of wealth and social status. Female nudes are also among the preferred genres of the collector. By covering eyes or gender with black bars, he points to the societal contradictions placed upon the female body. Recently, Feldmann has been searching for paintings that only depict the sea and sky. As with many of the artist's works, these carefully assembled collections highlight similarities and differences, and deal with the wealth of variations that arise from a familiar theme.
The exhibition at BAWAG Contemporary includes works from various phases of Feldmann's career. His works have been widely exhibited, including solo exhibitions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2011), the Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2010), the Arnolfini, Bristol (2007), and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1992). His works have also been featured in numerous group exhibitions, such as documenta 6 (1977) and the Venice Biennale (2009, 2003).