Dazzling craftsmanship, gigantic formats and a realism so extreme that it seems disturbing. You had to step up close to actually convince yourself that this is in fact painting... A wild and surprising meeting with the Swiss hyper-realist Franz Gertsch.
The exhibition was the first comprehensive presentation in Scandinavia of Franz Gertsch (1930-2022). In the second half of the 20th century, the Swiss artist shaped a new, special concept of realism and rose to international fame for his photorealistic paintings and woodcuts.
A WILD GAZE
Gertsch came to realism in the late 1960s after first flirting with a more romantic painting and then collages in the Pop Art style. He used photographic prints and projections before transforming the motifs into paintings using a special method and thanks to his great craftmanship.
EXTREMELY
CLOSE-UP
Using both extreme close-up and a special way of distancing, and mixing abstraction and figuration, Franz Gertsch created a personal and unique take on reality, while seemingly and at all times guarding some close-kept secret.
Frieze
Gigantic woodcuts
The exhibition featured the large-format works of the 1970s, which led to Gertsch’s international breakthrough at documenta in 1972; his iconic portraits of women from the 1980s; and the monumental sections of nature and landscapes from the past two decades. The paintings were accompanied and complemented by a selection of the artist’s large-scale woodcuts.
Gertsch documentary
The Czech-Swiss director Dana Maeder followed Franz Gertsch and his wife Maria from 2019 to 2021. The result is an evocative and condensed film, which can be experienced in the cinema in the exhibition. The film 'Der Zeit die Zeit geben' lasts 52 min. and starts every hour, first showing at 11:30 and last viewing at 20:30, Saturday-Sunday at 4:30 p.m
Homecoming
In spring 1973, the large painting ‘Medici’ was the centerpiece of Louisiana’s Extreme Realism exhibition. The year before, this particular painting had secured Gertsch his international breakthrough, and now, some 50 years later, it could be experienced here again—in the same spot in the West Wing.
THE LAST AND FIRST
The exhibition had to a large extent been created in close collaboration with the artist before his passing in December 2022. This was the last exhibition he would personally help prepare and also the first major posthumous presentation of his work. It had been realized with generous support from the Franz Gertsch Museum in Burgdorf and subsequently travelled to Deichtorhallen in Hamburg.
