About the Work
A nod to the Rorschach test, this edition is both abstract and figurative, hinting at two lovers embracing, while leaving room for the viewer’s own interpretation. Artschwager has said:
"Portraits are for me a vehicle for ravening ambition.
Photos give you a stupid, unassailable truth,
Drawings give you touch,
Painting gives you physical/mental invasion.
I want it all."
Liebespaar (Love) is an amalgamation of all of these art forms, creating an understated, yet powerful image of passion.
The work was created to benefit Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
About the Artist
Difficult to pin down, Richard Artschwager's style is never loyal to any one movement, but remains instead on the periphery of Conceptualism, Minimalism, and Pop Art. He challenges our preconceived ideas of two-dimensional imagery while also changing the way we think of three-dimensionality, utilizing everyday materials such as ceiling insulation and Formica in his creations. In his own words: “Space is an abstraction that grows naturally out of our looking at, looking into, looking through, walking, opening, closing, sitting, thinking about sitting, passing by.”
With a degree in physics, a stint as a bank employee, and a manufacturer of simple furniture, Artschwager followed different paths to become the successful artist he is today. He has had major career surveys at institutions like the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany; Kunstmuseum Winterthur; The Neues Museum, Nuremberg, Germany and the Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria. In 2002 he was inducted into The American Academy of Arts and Letters and in 2006 received the prestigious Wolfgang Hahn Prize. At 86, he continues to make work, which in recent years has increasingly explored current political issues.
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