Nicole Eisenman and the Moderns: Heads, Kisses, Battles

Cat. Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Fondation Vincent van Gogh, Kunstmuseum Den Haag

Exhibition catalogue, texts (eng.) by Katharina Ammann, Bice Curiger, Daniel Koep, Benno Tempel, Christina Végh, and a round-table conversation with Bice Curiger, Daniel Koep, Beate Söntgen, and Kolja Reichert
160 p with 130 coloured illustrations, softcover

ISBN 978-3-86442-362-8
(out of print)

German edition:
978-3-86442-361-1
(still available)

French edition:
978-3-86442-363-5
(still available)

(vergriffen)

»At the Fountain of History«

This is where the critic Georg Imdahl sees in his review at the daily FAZ (November 22, 2021) the work of the New York based Nicole Eisenman (*1965). It is captivating because of its committed discussion of the human condition, its interest for socially relevant interaction and its precise observation of processes of alienation in civilisation. In her drawings, paintings and sculptures, the ­artist combines elements from popular visual media (political satire, comics) with traditional art histor­ical references to form a new unity. »Heads, Kisses, Battles« brings together works from all of ­Eisenman’s creative periods. Against the backdrop of her artistic practice, in which various ­stylistic and compositional elements of historical painting become visible alongside popcultural ­influences, the show and the book are combining Eisenman’s paintings with works of classical ­modernism from the collections of the cooperat-ing museums. Through these selectively intro-duced historical works, the exhibition and the book, ­together with Eisenman’s oeuvre, opens up a ­resonance space spanning a century in which the past and up­coming social upheavals gain ­contour in their ­urgency, but also in their hope-awakening power.

Exhibitions:
Kunsthalle Bielefeld, 2/10/2021 – 9/1/2022
Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, 28/1 – 24/4/2022
Fondation Vicent van Gogh, Arles, 13/5 – 23/10/2022
Kunstmuseum Den Haag, 11/11/2022 – 1/3/2023