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Joseph Beuys

Just hit the mark: Works from the Speck Collection

September 10–November 15, 2003
Heddon Street, London

Joseph Beuys, Vitrine Nr 21 (Warmer Spazierstock mit braunem Hut), 1968–75 (signed and dated 1964) 2 copper sticks, felt, and painted cardboard hat, in wood, metal, and glass vitrine, 81 × 86 ½ × 19 ¾ inches (205.7 × 219.7 × 50.2 cm)© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Joseph Beuys, Vitrine Nr 21 (Warmer Spazierstock mit braunem Hut), 1968–75 (signed and dated 1964)

2 copper sticks, felt, and painted cardboard hat, in wood, metal, and glass vitrine, 81 × 86 ½ × 19 ¾ inches (205.7 × 219.7 × 50.2 cm)
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Jospeh Beuys, Jungfrau, 1952 Wax, gauze on cushion, 13 ½ × 15 × 2 ⅞ inches (34 × 38 × 7 cm)

Jospeh Beuys, Jungfrau, 1952

Wax, gauze on cushion, 13 ½ × 15 × 2 ⅞ inches (34 × 38 × 7 cm)

Jospeh Beuys, Ohne Titel (Heilkrauterverzeichnis der im Garten des Kunstlers wachsende Pflanzen), 1974 Pencil on cardboard box, 13 ¼ × 13 ¼ × 5-11/12 inches (33.5 × 33.5 × 15 cm)

Jospeh Beuys, Ohne Titel (Heilkrauterverzeichnis der im Garten des Kunstlers wachsende Pflanzen), 1974

Pencil on cardboard box, 13 ¼ × 13 ¼ × 5-11/12 inches (33.5 × 33.5 × 15 cm)

Jospeh Beuys, Ohne Titel (Fingerhut), 1966 Felt disc, pin and rubber thimble on a base, Base diam.: 5 ½ inches (13.6 cm)

Jospeh Beuys, Ohne Titel (Fingerhut), 1966

Felt disc, pin and rubber thimble on a base, Base diam.: 5 ½ inches (13.6 cm)

Joseph Beuys, Ohne Titel (s&w;), 1974 Color on black and white photograph, 6 ¼ × 9 1/3 inches (15.7 × 23.5 cm)

Joseph Beuys, Ohne Titel (s&w), 1974

Color on black and white photograph, 6 ¼ × 9 1/3 inches (15.7 × 23.5 cm)

Joseph Beuys, Filter, 1983 Zinc trunk with lid, 4 copper plates, felt, 14 ¼ × 35 ½ × 19 1/3 inches (36 × 90 × 49 cm)

Joseph Beuys, Filter, 1983

Zinc trunk with lid, 4 copper plates, felt, 14 ¼ × 35 ½ × 19 1/3 inches (36 × 90 × 49 cm)

About

Gagosian Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of major works by Joseph Beuys from the collection of Dr. Reiner Speck.

Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) is universally celebrated as one of the most important and revolutionary European artists of the last century. From early performances where he explored the role of artist as shaman, Beuys engaged his audience in unprecedented, provocative ways, calling upon art to be genuinely human medium for revolutionary change, "social sculpture" as he described it.

Embarking on a creative project that blurred the boundaries between art and life, Beuys created performance objects, installations, sculptures and drawings that challenge our traditional notions of beauty and desire. The profoundly experimental nature of his work established Beuys as a founding father of the German avant-garde; he was a renowned teacher at the Düsseldorf Academy and his influence continues to resonate with a new generation of European and American artists working today.

Dr. Reiner Speck is a prominent Cologne-based physician and collector of contemporary art and antiquarian books. After meeting Beuys in the mid 1960s, Dr. Speck began to acquire the artist's work, and continued to expand this important collection through to the end of Beuys' life. The Speck Collection includes seminal works from every period of the artist's oeuvre, from sculptures and drawings from the early 1950s, to highly charged objects from Beuys' later years.

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