This retrospective exhibition comprises approximately 200 drawings by Joseph Beuys (1921-1986), the central figure in postwar German art.
It focuses on the most intimate and revealing aspect of Beuys' work, one little known to American audiences. The selection charts the
remarkable evolution of Beuys' ideas throughout the course of five decades in a variety of mediums, including pencil, watercolor, oil, collage,
and chalk on blackboards. It traces the development of drawing from a private, introspective activity to one which became the vehicle for
Beuys' vision of global social reform.
is accompanied by a catalogue written by Ann Temkin, Bernice Rose and Dieter Koepplin and published by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Organizers
This exhibition has been organized by Ann Temkin, the Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of 20th Century Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Bernice Rose, Senior Curator of Drawings at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Support
This exhibition is made possible by generous grants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, Deutsche Bank,
The Pew Charitable Trusts, Lufthansa German Airlines, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., The Bohen Foundation and the
National Endowment for the Arts. An indemnity has been granted by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. In Philadelphia, the
exhibition received additional support from BMW of North America, Inc.
The publication was supported in part by grants from Mr. and Mrs. Ronald S. Lauder, New York, and Mr. and Mrs. Josef Froehlich, Stuttgart.
Curators
Ann Temkin, the Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of 20th Century Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Bernice Rose, Senior Curator of Drawings at The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Itinerary
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Art Institute of Chicago