Ulrike Ottinger: Journée d’un G.I.

When the bubble bursts

"Journée d'un G.I." is Ulrike Ottinger's third solo exhibition at Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin and shows paintings and serigraphs from the 1960s. Ulrike Ottinger's works, most of which are in several parts or divided into several pictorial fields, reveal a passion for storytelling that ultimately finds its fulfilment in the medium of film. Ulrike Ottinger became a cult star in cineaste circles with her Berlin trilogy "Bildnis einer Trinkerin" (1979), and in particular with "Freak Orlando" (1981), which was later followed by "Dorian Gray im Spiegel der Boulevardpress" (1984). In her diary "Paris Calligrammes" in 2019, she then presented a cinematic collection of memories of her formative decade in Paris, which brings us to the centre of the pictorial narratives of "Journée d'un G.I.". In the mid-1960s, Ulrike Ottinger is a painter, Paris is shaken by images of war and revolution. At home in Nouvelle Figuration, a Parisian form of Pop Art, everyday scenes, comics, photography and advertising determine the narrative style of Ulrike Ottinger's paintings. Everyday rituals intermingle with references to historical figures and literary heroes. While the daily battles rage, Ulrike Ottinger's heroes take a break, Che Guevara as "Le penseur" lolls on a sofa and sips a drink, Allen Ginsberg, Beat poet of the first hour, has "nothing more to say and nothing more to cry". The revolution, the artist seems to have realised early on, always eats its children.

Exhibition:
CFA Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin, 22/6 - 28/8/2021