Mixed media on canvas.180 x 150 cm. - Sophisticated and ambiguous work from the sought-after 1980s: Addressing issues that affect society, Kippenberger's art is highly intellectual. - In works from the "No Problem" group, he comments on Germany's process of dealing with its past. - Kippenberger and Albert Oehlen created the pamphlet “No Problem - no problème” - an ironic take on “non-existing” problems. - In the year of its origin, Kippenberger had his first comprehensive museum exhibition at the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt. LITERATURE: Gisela Capitain, Lisa Franzen (eds.), Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, Volume Two 1983-1986, Cologne 2023, cat. no. MK.P 1986.59 (illustrated in color on p. 447). - - Angelika Muthesius (ed.), Martin Kippenberger. Ten years after, Cologne 1991, p. 111 (with ill. no. 80). Angelika Taschen, Burkhard Riemschneider (eds.), Kippenberger, Cologne 1997, p. 131 (with color ill. no. 80). Chris Reitz, Aftermarket. Chris Reitz on “No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989” at David Zwirner, New York, in: Texte zur Kunst, no. 95, Sept. 2014, pp. 196-198 (illustrated on p. 196). Bob Nicklas, I love eternity or more love hours than can ever be repaid, in: No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, New York 2015, pp. 201-221 (illustrated on p. 91). Diedrich Diederichsen, “Before Globalization: Cologne and New York in the 1980s,” in: No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, New York 2015, pp. 11-20 (illustrated on p. 91). Kara Carmack, Cologne/New York in the 1980s: A Chronology, in: No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, New York 2015, pp. 225-259 (illustrated on p. 91).
Die No Problem Bilder, Galerie Christoph Dürr (Buck & Nagel), Munich, October 22 - November 22, 1986. Q.U.I., Centre national des arts plastiques, Villa Arson, Nice, February 28 - April 13, 1987 (with the label on the reverse). No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, David Zwirner, New York, May 1 - June 14, 2014. Body Check. Martin Kippenberger - Maria Lassnig, Lenbachhaus Munich, May 21 - September 15, 2019
Galerie Christoph Dürr (Buck & Nagel), Munich. Private collection, Southern Germany (acquired from the above)
No problem - Martin Kippenberger In 1986, Martin Kippenberger inscribed the margins of a 180 by 150 cm large canvas with “We Don't Have Problems with Friends, We Sleep with Them” in striking capital letters. In the center, he placed a crutch on a black background before a second, unidentifiable object. There is no identifiable connection between the text and the image's content. Bordering on incomprehensibility, however, human curiosity with its learned, art-historical thought patterns soon falls out of step. Kippenberger's thoughts and associations are too complex; the confusion and deception he creates are too unconventional to make sense of the content from the depiction alone. A glance at the series of eight works entitled “No Problems” and the simultaneously published accompanying pamphlet “No Problem - No Problème,” co-authored with his artist friend Albert Oehlen, quickly reveals a much broader context. Using titles such as “We Don't Have Problems with People Who Look Exactly Like Us, Because They Get Our Pain” or “Nous n'avons pas de problèmes avec les dépressions, tant qu'elles ne se mettent pas à être en vogue “ the viewer eventually realizes that the key to understanding these works must be hidden in the titles and the single word “Problem,” which is the series' recurrent theme. Despite using English and French for the catchphrases, he addresses "a very German phenomenon and problem approach.” It is ultimately to be understood as Martin Kippenberger's comment on the “status quo of Germany dealing with its past” in the 1980s, as explained in the recently published second volume of the catalogue raisonné (Gisela Capitain, Lisa Franzen (eds.), Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, Volume Two 1983-1986, Cologne 2023, p. 437). Saying “I don't have a problem with it, but...” is commonly used in German and, despite all tolerance, implies a problem that still exists and has not been overcome. Against the background of the Historikerstreit (Historians' Dispute) of the late 1980s and the subsequent recognition of shared responsibility for the war, Martin Kippenberger's seemingly innocent and humorous take on an everyday topic suddenly stands in a completely new light relevant to society as a whole. With each piece of background information on the series “No Problem,” our understanding of the content of this highly complex and sophisticated work grows, and the initial confusion disappears. Nothing here is as it seems, yet - in true Kippenberger style - everything there is to say about German society in the 1980s has been said. [AR]
Condition report on request katalogisierung@kettererkunst.de
Lot Details
Mixed media on canvas.180 x 150 cm. - Sophisticated and ambiguous work from the sought-after 1980s: Addressing issues that affect society, Kippenberger's art is highly intellectual. - In works from the "No Problem" group, he comments on Germany's process of dealing with its past. - Kippenberger and Albert Oehlen created the pamphlet “No Problem - no problème” - an ironic take on “non-existing” problems. - In the year of its origin, Kippenberger had his first comprehensive museum exhibition at the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt. LITERATURE: Gisela Capitain, Lisa Franzen (eds.), Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, Volume Two 1983-1986, Cologne 2023, cat. no. MK.P 1986.59 (illustrated in color on p. 447). - - Angelika Muthesius (ed.), Martin Kippenberger. Ten years after, Cologne 1991, p. 111 (with ill. no. 80). Angelika Taschen, Burkhard Riemschneider (eds.), Kippenberger, Cologne 1997, p. 131 (with color ill. no. 80). Chris Reitz, Aftermarket. Chris Reitz on “No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989” at David Zwirner, New York, in: Texte zur Kunst, no. 95, Sept. 2014, pp. 196-198 (illustrated on p. 196). Bob Nicklas, I love eternity or more love hours than can ever be repaid, in: No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, New York 2015, pp. 201-221 (illustrated on p. 91). Diedrich Diederichsen, “Before Globalization: Cologne and New York in the 1980s,” in: No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, New York 2015, pp. 11-20 (illustrated on p. 91). Kara Carmack, Cologne/New York in the 1980s: A Chronology, in: No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, New York 2015, pp. 225-259 (illustrated on p. 91).
Die No Problem Bilder, Galerie Christoph Dürr (Buck & Nagel), Munich, October 22 - November 22, 1986. Q.U.I., Centre national des arts plastiques, Villa Arson, Nice, February 28 - April 13, 1987 (with the label on the reverse). No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, David Zwirner, New York, May 1 - June 14, 2014. Body Check. Martin Kippenberger - Maria Lassnig, Lenbachhaus Munich, May 21 - September 15, 2019
Galerie Christoph Dürr (Buck & Nagel), Munich. Private collection, Southern Germany (acquired from the above)
No problem - Martin Kippenberger In 1986, Martin Kippenberger inscribed the margins of a 180 by 150 cm large canvas with “We Don't Have Problems with Friends, We Sleep with Them” in striking capital letters. In the center, he placed a crutch on a black background before a second, unidentifiable object. There is no identifiable connection between the text and the image's content. Bordering on incomprehensibility, however, human curiosity with its learned, art-historical thought patterns soon falls out of step. Kippenberger's thoughts and associations are too complex; the confusion and deception he creates are too unconventional to make sense of the content from the depiction alone. A glance at the series of eight works entitled “No Problems” and the simultaneously published accompanying pamphlet “No Problem - No Problème,” co-authored with his artist friend Albert Oehlen, quickly reveals a much broader context. Using titles such as “We Don't Have Problems with People Who Look Exactly Like Us, Because They Get Our Pain” or “Nous n'avons pas de problèmes avec les dépressions, tant qu'elles ne se mettent pas à être en vogue “ the viewer eventually realizes that the key to understanding these works must be hidden in the titles and the single word “Problem,” which is the series' recurrent theme. Despite using English and French for the catchphrases, he addresses "a very German phenomenon and problem approach.” It is ultimately to be understood as Martin Kippenberger's comment on the “status quo of Germany dealing with its past” in the 1980s, as explained in the recently published second volume of the catalogue raisonné (Gisela Capitain, Lisa Franzen (eds.), Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, Volume Two 1983-1986, Cologne 2023, p. 437). Saying “I don't have a problem with it, but...” is commonly used in German and, despite all tolerance, implies a problem that still exists and has not been overcome. Against the background of the Historikerstreit (Historians' Dispute) of the late 1980s and the subsequent recognition of shared responsibility for the war, Martin Kippenberger's seemingly innocent and humorous take on an everyday topic suddenly stands in a completely new light relevant to society as a whole. With each piece of background information on the series “No Problem,” our understanding of the content of this highly complex and sophisticated work grows, and the initial confusion disappears. Nothing here is as it seems, yet - in true Kippenberger style - everything there is to say about German society in the 1980s has been said. [AR]
Condition report on request katalogisierung@kettererkunst.de
Martin Kippenberger 
