Exhibition - André Butzer
Maikäfer flieg!
Kunstverein Friedrichshafen
Exhibition: January – 19 March 2023
André Butzer,
Pendant Light, 2021.
Pendant light individually painted and signed by Andre Butzer.
Courtesy of Kenneth A. Friedman & Co. and the artist
Opening: January 2023
The title Maikäfer fly! of André Butzer’s solo exhibition in Kunstverein Friedrichshafen, refers to famous German folk and children's songs. Over time, writers, artists and musicians have appropriated this work many times. It gained sad popularity due to the atrocities of World War II. In 1963, Paul Celan read "Little Hopefuls" from a fateful line. In 2023 André Butzer now calls his exhibition Maikäfer fly! His paintings are based not only on the artistic upheaval of the 19th century and beyond, but also on all the horrors and promises of the industrial revolution and modernity. This includes the premise of National Socialist mass extermination and capitalist mass consumption, Friedrich Hölderlin, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, and Coca-Cola.
Butzer, by contrast, developed his sci-fi expressionism from1999, and with it his highly personal visual world. There, the fundamental opposition of human existence is revealed: the indivisibility of good and evil. He creates fictional images where past, present and future meet and are permeated with reality and personal feelings. Beauty and ugliness, happiness and unhappiness, love and hate, joy and sorrow, are inseparable components of human existence. In addition to four watercolors, he created three monumental paintings for Kunstverein. The picture deals with Edvard Munch's 1907 to his 1908 years spent in Warnemünde. Butzer's personal experiences, particularly his trip to Kolberg, Poland in 2003, represent further points of reference.
André Butzer fuses European expressionism with American popular culture, translating the artistic and political extremes of the 20th century into the 21st century through life, death, consumption, and popular entertainment. Stemming from major influence from the likes of Paul Cézanne, Edvard Munch, Henri Matisse, Walt Disney, and Henry Ford, Butzer has developed a unique and artistic fictional world.
Many iconic characters live in Batzer's "sci-fi expressionism" with recognizable large comic book eyes, puffy heads, or oversized hands. The form continues to fascinate viewers in subsequent works. After relocating to California from 2018 to 2021, Butzer's practice explores fundamental aspects of color, light, and pictorial expression, and comes to life through the seemingly utter blackness of his N-Paintings. moved to something else. His more recent works are vibrate with a bold, energetic vitality.
About:
André Butzer (b. 1973, Stuttgart, Germany) is an contemporary artist living and working in Berlin, Germany. His recent solo exhibitions include Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, and Kunstverein Friedrichshafen (2023); Friedrichs Foundation, Weidingen (2022); YUZ Museum, Shanghai, and Museum of the Light, Hokuto (2020); Galerie Christine Mayer in Munich, Germany; Galerie Max Hetzler in Berlin, Germany; Patrick Painter in Santa Monica, CA; Hiromi Yoshii Gallery in Tokyo, Japan; and Metro Pictures Gallery in New York, NY; among others. Butzer has also participated in various important international group shows at Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Kunsthalle Emden; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Kunstmuseum St. Gallen and MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna. His works are in important public collections, including the Musée d’art contemporain, Nîmes; Kunstmuseum Stuttgart; Kupferstichkabinett/State Museums of Berlin; LACMA; MOCA; Phoenix Art Museum; Scharpff Collection, Stuttgart/Bonn; and the University of Chicago.
Looking for a piece or want to learn more about this artist?
Website: www.andrebutzer.com
Kunstverein Friedrichshafen
Kunstverein Friedrichshafen is located in Germany
Kunstverein Friedrichshafen e.V.
Buchhornplatz 6
88045 Friedrichshafen
T: +49 7541 21950
E: info@kunstverein-friedrichshafen.de
