Known for the boldly simple yet groundbreaking strategy of painting the motif upside down, Georg Baselitz has been a consistently provocative artist since the early 1960s. His work is always intensely energetic but surprisingly varied, starting with raw, existential male figures famously removed from his first solo exhibition due to indecency, and the series of “Heroes” depicting disabled and exposed figures in a ruined landscape.

Throughout this development, the pictorial space became increasingly fragmented, and by the end of the decade, the artist completely turned the world upside down: trees, factories, eagles, or nude self-portraits painted upside down. This soon enabled him to freely paint and explore conceptual color schemes or unconventional themes, such as men eating oranges, Soviet propaganda paintings, or more recently, so-called remixes revisiting his earlier work as a dialogue through time.

Already a master of drawing, woodcut, and engraving, from 1980 onward Baselitz also created rough sculptures carved from wood with an axe and chainsaw, later incorporating bronze into his materials in the late 2000s.

Now available in an updated unlimited edition, this book features large-format reproductions of over 400 works across all media, including installation views and portrait photographs. The texts approach the subject from various perspectives: a portrait of Baselitz and his dark sense of humor by longtime connoisseur Richard Shiff; an essay on the formation of his art and development as a painter by critic Jonathan Jones; insights into his sculptural work since his scandalous success at the Venice Biennale 1980 by art historian Eva Mongi-Vollmer; analysis of his artistic strategies by art historian Carla Schulz-Hoffmann; a collection of literary vignettes related to the artist’s use of myth and history by author and director Alexander Kluge; and a studio conversation with art journalist Cornelius Tittel.

Statements from the artist and an illustrated biography complete this unprecedented exploration of Georg Baselitz’s work.

Pages: 616, Year of Publication: 0815, Dimensions: 25x25cm