Versteinerte Tropfen II
Markus Lüpertz

Markus Lüpertz (1941) is a painter, sculptor, and graphic artist, and is one of the best-known German artists of our time. Lüpertz’ works are particularly characterized by their evocative power as well as an archaic monumentality. The artist’s career took some time to gain momentum at first. This eccentric free spirit was expelled after just one semester at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in the 1960s. He began working as an independent artist until he eventually made his breakthrough. In 1988 his path crossed the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf once more when Lüpertz was made rector of the prestigious academy, which he led for over twenty years until 2009.  Within the  neo-expressionist movement , which also counted the likes of  Georg Baselitz ,  A.R. Penck  and  Jörg Immendorff  among its members, since the 1960s Markus Lüpertz has endeavored to find a more emotional, clearer form of painting that would set it apart from the dominant art movements of the time. There can be no doubt that he achieved it. With an unusual mixture of figuration and abstraction as well as his partly historical and mythological subjects, Lüpertz produces self-contained art that stands out and constantly gives rise to furore and controversy. “I’ve [...] never been interested in reality. I applied my expressivity to painting and put a very special kind...