ART
WILHELM LEHMBRUCK
Sculptures
At Michael Werner Gallery
(Upper East Side, NYC)
Through March 1, 2012
Michael Werner Gallery is presenting an exhibition of works by Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1881-1919). This is the first major Lehmbruck exhibition in the United States in more than two decades with significant works by this European artist, rarely seen in America.
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Wilhelm Lehmbruck is an important figure in the development of modernism and the first German sculptor of the twentieth century to significantly impact art on an international scale. A contemporary of Auguste Rodin and Aristide Maillol, Lehmbruck’s contribution to sculpture was distinctly modern. His achievement was of particular importance to a later generation of sculptors, chief among them Joseph Beuys, who openly credited his predecessor as the inspiration to begin his own work in sculpture.
In 1895, at the age of 14, Lehmbruck entered the School of Arts and Crafts in Düsseldorf and later received specialized studies at the Düsseldorf Academy – training typical for aspiring sculptors of the time. He adhered to tradition during his Academy years, though he remained mindful of modern developments in painting and sculpture, vis a vis Rodin and other artists working in Paris at that time. A major Rodin exhibition, presented in Düsseldorf in 1904, made a deep impression on Lehmbruck and allowed him to conceive of a break with the traditions that had guided him during his student years. Beginning in 1907 Lehmbruck made several trips to Paris and eventually settled there in 1910. It was in Paris that his unique style began to emerge. Gradually moving away from the neoclassical foundations of his work, he began to fuse elements from his traditional formal vocabulary with a range of sources including Romanticism and the Gothic.
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Lehmbruck’s specifically modern contribution to sculpture lay in an innovative approach to materials, in particular his use of recently developed industrial materials including cast stone. This experimentation encouraged his interest in fragmentation, another important quality of the artist’s modern sensibility. Lehmbruck often preferred to rework or recast elements from his existing sculptures, rather than to conceive of entirely new forms. Figures could be recast in stone or terracotta, for example, and given various different patinas; or, the head or torso from a larger figure could be isolated and recast in a variety of media. Lehmbruck exploited his experiments with materials and form to augment the emotional tenor of his works, all in an effort to achieve the deepest possible feeling.
Lehmbruck participated in the famous Armory Show of 1913 and had his first solo exhibition in 1914, at Galerie Levesque in Paris. With the outbreak of World War I, he returned to Germany, arriving first in Cologne and Düsseldorf and later Berlin. During the war he worked briefly in a field hospital. His already fragile sensibility, fraught with self-doubt and prone to melancholy, did not withstand the horrors of war. Tragically, he took his own life in 1919 at the age of 38, leaving no immediately apparent successor. While the Nazis would later denounce Lehmbruck as “degenerate”, his work became for many a symbol of creative freedom. Joseph Beuys, in a moving acceptance speech given on the occasion of being awarded the Lehmbruck Prize in 1986, honored the artist as his inspiration and mentor. As his biographer Paul Westheim wrote in 1922, describing the artist’s sadly truncated legacy, “Lehmbruck’s art remains a torso...He has given us much that is significant, but, judging from his beginnings, we had the right to expect more...”
Wilhelm Lehmbruck features more than a dozen sculptures by the artist, including several rare lifetime bronze and stone casts as well as unique plaster and terracotta figures. Also included in the exhibition is a large selection of related etchings, many of them unique impressions. The works are remarkable for their physicality and exploit the emotive qualities of their material to reach beyond mere depiction toward something deeper.
Wilhelm Lehmbruck is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue featuring a text by art historian and curator Annabelle Ténèze. The exhibition is on view through 3 March. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10AM to 6PM. Please call the gallery for more information or visit michaelwerner.com.
Michael Werner Gallery
4 East 77th Street, New York, NY 10075
Tel +1 212 988 1623 | Fax + 1 212 988 1774
If you have an interest in purchasing one of these sculptures contact the gallery at info@michaelwerner.com
(Source: Michael Werner Gallery Press Dept.)
FOOD
CORNISH GAME HENS
Sweet & Savory
2 Tbls salt
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp black pepper
6 Cornish Game Hens
1 1/2 cups Karo Syrup
1/4 cup water
Stuffing:
1 cup butter
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 cup celery , finely diced
2 Tbls dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chicken bouillon
4 cups cornbread bread crumbs
Hens:
Mix salt, cayenne, sugar, and black pepper. Rub hens with seasonings mixture inside and out; using all the seasoning.
Place 3 hens in each of 2 gallon-size re-sealable plastic bags. Combine syrup and water for a marinade. Pour half of the marinade in each bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal. Allow hens to marinate at room temperature for 2 hours turning bags every 15 minutes.
While hens marinate, make the stuffing.
Stuffing:
In a small saucepan over high heat, melt butter. Add onion, celery, parsley, salt, and garlic powder. Saute 10 minutes. Add water and chicken bouillon and stir well. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
Mix in cornbread to make a sticky consistent stuffing. Chill mixture in refrigerator for 45 minutes or until cold and firm.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Drain hens, reserving marinade. Stuff marinated hens and place in a greased baking pan. Pour reserved marinade over each hen.
Bake, covered, for 45 minutes, basting with marinade every 15 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer or until golden brown outside.
Makes six portions - serve with grilled vegetables and rice pilaf.
(Source: A "Prejean family" recipe, Prejean's Cookbook.)
(Source: A "Prejean family" recipe, Prejean's Cookbook.)
Until later,
Jack
ARTSnFOOD, All rights reserved. Concept & Original Text © Copyright 2012 Jack A. Atkinson under all International intellectual property and copyright laws. Images © individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.
