Martin Kippenberger / Bruce Wilhelm: Stop-painting, keep-going-painting
Opening January 24, 2025
TWEN: Do you even know how to paint?
Kippenberger: Yes
TWEN: Do you have a favorite theme?
Kippenberger: Misery
TWEN: How do you paint?
Kippenberger: It varies
TWEN: Do you have a favorite style of painting?
Kippenberger: Stop-painting, keep-going-painting
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COL Gallery is proud to present new works by Virginia based painter Bruce Wilhelm (b.1981) alongside seminal German artist Martin Kippenberger (1953–1997) opening January 24, 2025.
Martin Kippenberger was renowned for his audacious, irreverent approach, blending painting, installation, sculpture, and performance. His critique of modern art conventions and his complex self-portraits challenged both the role of the artist and invited questions about the possibility of what art could be. This exhibition will present a selection of Kippenberger’s significant works, showcasing his ability to confront issues of identity, politics, and societal contradictions, often with sharp wit and bold humor.
In a unique dialogue, Bruce Wilhelm, will debut new works that explore themes of contemporary Americana through a lens of abstraction and vibrant color. Wilhelm’s compositions, while visually distinct from Kippenberger’s, share a conceptual depth that examine the nature of representation and the human experience in a rapidly shifting world. His loose, gestural style combined with narrative undertones offer a fresh contrast to Kippenberger's often biting satire, yet the two artists are bound by their willingness to shape shift; experimenting with both figuration and abstraction, exploring diverse formal strategies, incorporating various art historical references, and referencing their personal histories.
This exhibition is an exciting opportunity to bring together the work of two artists who, although from different generations and artistic contexts, both push boundaries and invite viewers to reconsider their assumptions. The combination of Kippenberger’s rebellious legacy and Wilhelm’s evolving voice will create an engaging conversation on the possibilities of contemporary painting.
Wilhelm (b.1981) earned his BFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2004, and his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2012. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including Mulherin Pollard in New York and ADA Gallery in Richmond, Virginia.
Kippenberger (1953–1997) was one of the most provocative and influential artists of the late 20th century. Born in Dortmund, Germany, he studied at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg before immersing himself in Berlin’s vibrant art scene. A key figure in the Neo-Expressionist movement, Kippenberger’s work addressed themes of identity, politics and culture with biting humor and conceptual depth. He often blurred the line between artist and subject, creating works that commented on the role of the artist in society and the commercialization of art. Kippenberger’s work was deeply rooted in the postwar context of Europe, yet it resonates globally for its radical deconstruction of art-making and its questioning of authenticity and authorship. Despite his untimely death at the age of 44, his legacy endures, with his works continuing to challenge and inspire new generations of artists and collectors around the world.
Kippenberger’s work is held in prestigious public and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Tate Modern, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Broad, Los Angeles; and The Rubell Collection, Miami.