Kippenberger

"I am rather like a travelling salesman. I deal in ideas. I am far more to people than just someone who paints pictures." Martin Kippenberger (1953-1997) was one of the most complex artists of the 80s and 90s. His œuvre could not be reduced to any one medium. To him, sculpture, painting, photography, drawing, catalogues, invitation cards and posters were all equally valid forms of artistic expression and he constantly played off one against another in an output so prolific that it verged on the inflationary. His maxim was that "good artists are never on holiday" and he demanded the same total commitment from those who viewed his works. This book documents two decades of Martin Kippenberger’s work in 400 illustrations, from the early days of his Berlin office to his works for documenta X in Kassel and for the exhibition of sculpture in Münster, both of which were completed after his death. With this book, the publisher wishes to pay homage to an extraordinary person and artist who died suddenly and unexpectedly in Vienna on 7 March 1997.