When Isa Genzken's 26-foot-tall painted steel rose was unveiled last fall in lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park, formerly home to the Occupy Wall Street protest movement, it was as close as the.
Arts
Isa Genzken is one of the most important artists working today. At 70, she continues to wow with her shrill collages and sculptures, having long made a name for herself beyond the misnomer of 'Gerhard Richter's wife.'
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
Isa Genzken
Described by MOMA as 'arguably one of the most important and influential female artists of the past 30 years,' Genzken was born in northern Germany in 1948 and studied in nearby Hamburg at the University of Fine Arts. She worked as a photography model before commencing her studies at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where she worked under future husband, the artist Gerhard Richter.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
Steel flowers
Even though Genzken had dedicated herself successfully to painting, photography and film, she is best known as a sculptor. Her work is so well known that she installed an eight-meter rose made of painted steel next to the new World Trade Center in New York. The sculpture 'Rose III' was erected in September 2018.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
Orchids in Central Park
Isa Genzken's rose installation at the World Trade Center was not the first of her sculptures to find a setting in New York. Her 'Two Orchids' have been in Central Park since 2016. The flowers, measuring eight and ten meters tall, were placed at the southeast entrance of the storied Manhattan park. They were previously exhibited at the Venice Biennale.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
A rose is a rose is a rose ...
Genzken has also installed her flowers made of steel in locations throughout Germany. This eight meter high rose made of stainless steel blooms on the north side of Leipzig. The colorful sculpture welcomes visitors to the city's trade fair.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
Material Girl
Steel is by no means the only material used by Genzken. Aluminium, wood and, last but not least, concrete are among the materials she has utilized. She likewise reused everyday objects like this doll surrounded by cheap plastic kitsch, along with strollers turned upside down. The postmodern Passion Play was on display at the front courtyard of the Liebfrauen-Überwasserkirche in Munster in 2007.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
'Mach dich hübsch!'
Or.... 'Make yourself pretty!' was the title of Isa Genzken's exhibition at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin in 2016. For the show, the artist placed various sunglasses on the (already) pretty noses of her 'Nefertiti Heads.'
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
A passion for photography
For the installation 'Spielautomat,' or 'Slot Machine,' which appeared at the Museum Ludwig in 2009 as part of the 'Open Sesame' exhibition, Genzken placed photographs together to create the shape of a cube.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
The urban room
'I'm Isa Genzken, The Only Female Fool' was the title of an exhibition of the artist's work at the Kunsthalle Vienna in 2014. At the heart of the show was a confrontation with urban architecture over the previous four decades.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
A Kaiserring for Isa Genzken
One of the most renowned prizes in the art world in Germany, the Kaiserring recognizes artists for their life's work. In October 2017, the city of Goslar awarded the ring to Isa Genzken. The jury said in awarding the prize that the artist contributed to the international discourse with her work and did so, 'not without humor.'
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
Isa Genzken
Described by MOMA as 'arguably one of the most important and influential female artists of the past 30 years,' Genzken was born in northern Germany in 1948 and studied in nearby Hamburg at the University of Fine Arts. She worked as a photography model before commencing her studies at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where she worked under future husband, the artist Gerhard Richter.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
Steel flowers
Even though Genzken had dedicated herself successfully to painting, photography and film, she is best known as a sculptor. Her work is so well known that she installed an eight-meter rose made of painted steel next to the new World Trade Center in New York. The sculpture 'Rose III' was erected in September 2018.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
Orchids in Central Park
Isa Genzken's rose installation at the World Trade Center was not the first of her sculptures to find a setting in New York. Her 'Two Orchids' have been in Central Park since 2016. The flowers, measuring eight and ten meters tall, were placed at the southeast entrance of the storied Manhattan park. They were previously exhibited at the Venice Biennale.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
A rose is a rose is a rose ...
Genzken has also installed her flowers made of steel in locations throughout Germany. This eight meter high rose made of stainless steel blooms on the north side of Leipzig. The colorful sculpture welcomes visitors to the city's trade fair.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
Material Girl
Steel is by no means the only material used by Genzken. Aluminium, wood and, last but not least, concrete are among the materials she has utilized. She likewise reused everyday objects like this doll surrounded by cheap plastic kitsch, along with strollers turned upside down. The postmodern Passion Play was on display at the front courtyard of the Liebfrauen-Überwasserkirche in Munster in 2007.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
'Mach dich hübsch!'
Or.... 'Make yourself pretty!' was the title of Isa Genzken's exhibition at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin in 2016. For the show, the artist placed various sunglasses on the (already) pretty noses of her 'Nefertiti Heads.'
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
A passion for photography
For the installation 'Spielautomat,' or 'Slot Machine,' which appeared at the Museum Ludwig in 2009 as part of the 'Open Sesame' exhibition, Genzken placed photographs together to create the shape of a cube.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
The urban room
'I'm Isa Genzken, The Only Female Fool' was the title of an exhibition of the artist's work at the Kunsthalle Vienna in 2014. At the heart of the show was a confrontation with urban architecture over the previous four decades.
The Lady of the Rose: Sculptor Isa Genzken turns 70
A Kaiserring for Isa Genzken
One of the most renowned prizes in the art world in Germany, the Kaiserring recognizes artists for their life's work. In October 2017, the city of Goslar awarded the ring to Isa Genzken. The jury said in awarding the prize that the artist contributed to the international discourse with her work and did so, 'not without humor.'
Photo collages held together with packing tape, colorful plastic parts on a pole, wheelchairs covered with red fabric and transparent plastic wrap, dressed up mannequins: Isa Genzken often draws on found objects from everyday life that she places in a different context for her conceptual art. Her preferred materials include not only colorful tapes, plastic, and mirror foil, but also wood, aluminum and concrete.
Impressed by modern architecture
Isa Genzken Rose
It is no coincidence that the building materials she uses are reminiscent of urban architecture. The skyscrapers of Manhattan have fascinated Isa Genzken since she was 16, when she first visited New York City.
'As soon as I arrived, I felt like this was my city. Of all the cities I have come to know, I still love it the most. The architecture is something you can't copy,' the interview-shy artist, who lives in Berlin, told the newspaper Der Tagesspiegel in 2016. Among her favorite buildings were those at the former World Trade Center.
In 2001, she experienced the attack on the World Trade Center up close, albeit initially via a television broadcast.
'For me, it seemed like a Spielberg film. I went to the World Trade Center in the evening and was horrified. There was still smoke in the sky, people gathering the remnants — chairs, furniture. It was hell.'
Read more: David Hockney painting sells for $90 million, setting auction record
A rose for the new World Trade Center
To honor the tragedy, she had an eight meter tall steel rose erected this September next to the new World Trade Center (see image top). These oversized flowers run like a red thread through the work she has produced over the last 25 years. They reveal a completely different, poetic side to the artist and have become something of a trademark.
In 1993, Genzken placed an eight meter high rose in front of the villa of the art collector Frieder Burda. An equally large red rose made of stainless steel placed on the grounds of the Leipzig Trade Fair is also well-known. In New York, Genzken has also placed two oversized orchids in Central Park.
Psychiatry and Art
Isa Genzken was born in the village of Bad Oldesloe near Hamburg, a world away from 'her city' of New York. In the 1970s, she studied at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg and later went on to the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf. Her teacher there was Gerhard Richter, to whom she was later married for more than a decade.
But while she was enthusiastic about skyscrapers, he preferred to pick mushrooms and the two went their separate ways.
The ultimate accolade: Isa Genzken's 2013 retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art
When her relationship with Gerhard Richter ended, Genzken turned to alcohol and wasted her money in the clubs of Manhattan and Berlin. In recent years, she has been diagnosed with a bipolar disorder that results in emotional highs and lows.
In New York, however, she says, she is spared from these ups and downs. In 2013, the Museum of Modern Art dedicated a comprehensive retrospective to her work.
Read more:Bright, bold and blurred: Exploring Gerhard Richter's abstract works
The artist has participated in the international art show 'documenta' in Kassel three times. At documenta 11 she showed 'New Buildings for Berlin,' abstract high-rise models made of colored industrial glass standing on slender poles. In 'Fuck the Bauhaus, New Buildings for New York,' she also created city models made of plastic, wood, shells, toys and mirrored sheets, thus exploring the architecture and utopias of modernism.
Another perspective
Genzken had her big breakthrough at the Venice Biennale, where she designed the German Pavilion in 2007. Here, too, she worked with mannequins dressed as astronauts, which she hung from the ceiling, and with toys, Venetian dressed skulls on pedestals and rolling suitcases on the floor. The associations range from the failure of a society of progress on issues of war and climate catastrophe. The latter was already suggested by the title of her show: 'Oil.'
'Her works are never just what you see. She has a very special, different view of things that is not invented, but real feeling,' Genzken's long-time gallery owner Daniel Buchholz told the DPA news agency.
On the occasion of her 70th birthday on November 27, 2018, he will be hosting an exhibition for her — and hopes Genzken will attend the opening if health permits.
Isa Genzken receiving the Kaiserring in Goslar
In 2014, the Kunsthalle Vienna showed an exhibition of works in which Isa Genzken dealt with urban architecture. The show was called 'I'm Isa Genzken, The Only Female Fool' — a title that could also serve as life motto. In addition to sculptures and paintings, her entire oeuvre also includes installations, films, photographs and books.
In 2017, Isa Genzken was awarded the Kaiserring, one of the most important prizes for modern art. The reason given was that her installations and sculptures drew attention to the contrasts and brutalities in society. In addition, she has a pioneering role in the 'international discourse of sculpture,' in which, the jury said, she is a leader but 'never without a bit of humor.'
Berlin's East Side Gallery
Berlin icon
It's one of Berlin's most visited locations. Numerous artists have immortalized their thoughts on German reunification on a 1.3-kilometer stretch of the Wall. Among them was Dimitri Vrubel, an unknown art student from Moscow when the East Side Gallery was created in 1990. He painted the famous brotherly kiss between the Soviet and East German heads of state, Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker.
Berlin's East Side Gallery
Reminder of the victims
The East Side Gallery is located near what used to be a so-called death strip lined with watchtowers. The patrolling soldiers in that area had orders to shoot at those attempting to flee from East into West Berlin.
Berlin's East Side Gallery
Protected monument
On September 28,1990 — days before official reunification on October 3 — the East Side Gallery was opened to the public. Since then, many of its paintings, printed on postcards available in souvenir shops all over Berlin, have become world famous. Among them is Thierry Noir's 'Homage to the Young Generation.' In November 1991, the East Side Gallery was listed as a protected historical monument.
Berlin's East Side Gallery
Controversial renovation
As the Berlin Wall is exposed to wind and weather, tourists and souvenir chiselers, it needs to be repaired regularly. In October 2008, the artworks were to be completely refurbished. Some of the artists refused to so, but most agreed and a large number of the paintings could be restored.
Berlin's East Side Gallery
Art flash mob
In 1990, German pop artist Jim Avignon created his painting 'Doin' it cool for the East Side.' In 2013, he came under fire when, together with some art students, he painted over his original painting — without official permission.
Berlin's East Side Gallery
Investor pushes through partial demolition
In 2013, parts of the East Side Gallery were displaced for the construction of high-rise apartments.The resulting gap of six meters served as an entrance to the construction site. That stirred protests — without success. Now, the residential tower has been completed and the apartments have been sold.
Berlin's East Side Gallery
On the silver screen
In January 2015, the documentary 'Berlin East Side Gallery' by filmmakers Karin Kaper and Dirk Szuszies was released, covering the various changes which the outdoor gallery has had to endure since its renovation in 2009. Artist Thomas Klingenstein said he hopes 'that this film will help protect that special stretch of the Berlin Wall for the future.'
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Plasticienne allemande.
It took several decades for Isa Genzken’s pieces (sculptures, installations, photographs, paintings, and collages) to be recognized among the most important contributions to the history and renaissance of late-twentieth century sculpture. Composed of contemporary materials assembled in a sophisticated manner, her creations nonetheless display certain artisanal qualities. Her themes question the relationship between private and public space, the autonomy of art, and the collective experience. From a socio-political point of view, her forms demonstrate how art can find a way to bring shape and life to thought, ideology, and to humanity, its representations and disasters. The issue of material is of paramount importance to the artist. In the 1980s, she used wood, plaster, and concrete in her freestanding sculptures, which stand between 5 and 10 metres tall and call into question the architecture that was then at the heart of the postmodern debate over “deconstruction”. These conceptual objects are built following a rectangular design, enclosing space inside concrete walls without windows, fragments of architecture placed on a steel base (Marcel, 1987). In the 1990s, she introduced light and transparency, first using epoxy resin, a translucent material, then turning to coloured industrial glass, which lends her pieces a strange aesthetic. The façade becomes her subject, as in the New Buildings for Berlin series (2001–2002), a fragile incarnation of the skyscraper, made of glass, erected and grouped according to triangular and rectangular designs.
Isa Genzken Slot Machine Slot
Then came, in the 2000s, the Social Façade series, in which the artist employed a format normally associated with painting. Strips of diverse metals – from copper plates to aluminium sheets – are glued to rectangular frames. Light, refracted by prisms onto shimmering surfaces, mirrors and multiplies the observer’s image, ego, and devastating power. This incursion took on even greater dimensions in the set of 22 sculptures entitled Empire Vampire, Who Kills Death (2002–2003), created following the September 11 attacks in 2001, which I. Genzken herself witnessed in New York. The materials became dirtier, and included plastic toys and debris; the colourless forms seem to be covered in ash, evoking the impenetrable and grey cloud that hung over the world that day. For a few years now, her installations have become more complex: they employ recycled materials, bright colours, torn and decomposed images, providing a feeling of violence, a definitive break with the idea of art as an all-encompassing discourse. Her exhibition in 2010 at the Chantal Crousel Gallery in Paris is a testament to this; she presented, namely, Mona Isa, which featured iconic characters from the history of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci or Michael Jackson, next to her own portraits. In Hotel, Harfe, Ambulance, Nofretete, Bibliothek (2010), sculpture-bodies symbolize universal lifestyle, in Lautsprecher, empty speaker cabinets, receivers or transmitters suspended from the ceiling forever await sounds, and an elephant – that big, sad, and tired animal – enters the exhibition through a hidden window (Mona Isa III [Elefant], 2010). The international public discovered her in 2007 through the Venice Biennale, where Genzken showcased the opaque and reflective dimensions of the history of the German pavilion, creating a real metamorphosis of and about architecture, a place where glamour and misery, euphoria and disillusion, the popular idea and the collapse of modernism rub shoulders. The MoMA devoted an important retrospective to her work in 2013.
© 2013 Des femmes – Antoinette Fouque
© Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions