Parallel Processes

24 years after his death, artist, teacher, and activist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) is celebrated with an all-inclusive exhibition organized in his hometown Dusseldorf. A highly controversial artist during his lifetime, for whom artistic practice, teaching and political activism were were wedded to each other, he is considered today one of the most important figures of 20th century avant-garde art, mentioned in the same breath as Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol. He revolutionized sculpture by using new materials such as felt, honey and grease, which enabled him to explore and represent psychological subjects of unparalleled breadth and intensity. Making our notion of sculpture flow and expand, he also dissolved it by translating his vision into actions that oscillated between happenings and mime and reminded many viewers of shaman rituals. In his early drawings based on abstract forms Beuys developed an idiosyncratic iconography palpitating between fairy tale and fantasy.