OEHLEN, MARKUS
1956 Krefeld

Title: Untitled.
Date: 1996.
Technique: Acrylic and varnish on canvas.
Measurement: 270 x 266 cm.
Notation: Signed and dated on the reverse, center left : M. Oehlen 1996.
Frame: Framed.



Provenance:
- Provenance:

- Martin Asbaek Gallery, Copenhagen

- Private collection, Berlin



- Luminous colors and divergent patterns exert an incomparable magnetism

- Represents the zeitgeist of upheaval and the reinvention of painting in the 1980s and 1990s

- Markus Oehlen was a member of the influential artist group “Neue Wilde,” which redefined the boundaries of painting



Colorful fragments of paint layered one upon another, vibrant lines, contrasting patterns, and scenic motifs—such as an animal skull and a suggested mask—come together in this untitled 1996 work to form an almost psychedelic composition. The large format and the luminous colors, which lend the work depth through their layering, draw us in magnetically and inevitably. Here, autonomy reigns: that of color, of painting, and of the artist.

Markus Oehlen’s work reflects the zeitgeist of the wild 1980s and 1990s—a spirit of the times marked by upheaval, reunification, and liberation. A spirit that did not leave the art world untouched and that questioned the very concept of art, but above all painting as a medium. The sensational and almost revolutionary artist group “Junge Wilde,” also known as the “Neue Wilde,” made it their mission to dismantle the outdated concept of painting. Members such as Markus and Albert Oehlen, as well as Martin Kippenberger, Werner Büttner, and Walter Dahn, test boundaries, shatter norms, and closely intertwine their unbridled lifestyle with their art. As a counterpoint to established styles, such as the dominant Minimalism, they redefined the medium of painting, called for resistance against rigid ways of thinking, provoked, and escalated. Precisely for this reason, they gained worldwide recognition and are still counted among the most significant and influential artists in the history of contemporary painting. Markus Oehlen, who completed his studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy as a master student under Alfonso Hüppi, exhibits at established institutions such as MoMA in New York, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, and the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt. In the early 2000s, he began his tenure as a professor of art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, where he pioneered the training of a new generation of artists.





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#Markus Oehlen #Neue Wilde #Germany #Contemporary Art #Painting #Abstract #1990s #Post War.







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