Jonathan Meese (born January 23,
1970, Tokyo) is a German painter, sculptor, performance artist and
installation artist based in Berlin and Hamburg. His (often multi-media)
works include collages, drawings and writing. He also designs theater
sets and wrote and starred in a play, "De Frau: Dr. Poundaddylein
- Dr. Ezodysseusszeusuzur" in 2007 at the Volksbühne Theater.
Meese attended Hochschule für bildende Künste
in Hamburg, but left the school before completing his studies and
was picked up by Berlin gallery Contemporary Fine Arts. An early
installation, "Ahoi de Angst," presented at the first
Berlin Biennale in 1998, gained him international attention and
caused his career to skyrocket. He has worked virtually non-stop
ever since. His installations are results of his manic collecting
of a unique style of cult and kitch paraphernalia which he presents
in "works of remarkable formal effectiveness." Of his
work it has been written, "Jonathan Meese can tell a story
in such a gripping way that you would never have the idea to doubt
its truth. Especially his installations benefit from this quality,"
and, about the Berlin Biennale in particular, "It was thus
clear that Meese had indeed put his finger on the pulse of his generation
and presented it."
The prolific artist views Art as completely independent
of human influence. He has stated, "Art is its own motive force,
its own drive, its own instinct, its own reality, its own politics
and its own confusion. For Art, human sensibility is simply not
relevant." His works are filled with references to history,
literature, pop culture and the art world, which "constitute
a portrait gallery that the German collector Harald Falkenberg has
described as an “archeo-family.” Meese explains that
these figures are complete in themselves; they cannot be reduced,
but are summed up in their name or their image, such as Napoleon,
Darth Vader, Alex De Large, Ezra Pound. He favors gestures with
this quality of totality as well, for example, the Hitler salute
has factored heavily into his performances.
He has been included in exhibitions “Spezialbilder”
at Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, “Grotesk!” at Schirn
Kunsthalle in Frankfurt and “Schnitt bringt Schnitte”
at Ausstellungsraum Schnitt in Köln. Recent exhibitions include
Thanks, Wally Whyton (Revendaddy Phantomilky on Coconut Islandaddy)
at Modern Art, London, and a performance at Tate Modern, entitled
Noel Coward Is Back — Dr. Humpty Dumpty vs. Fra No-Finger.[6]
He has exhibited at Modern Art, London, Galerie Daniel Templon,
Paris, and Centro Cultural Andratx, Mallorca.
He is represented by Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin,
Leo Koenig in New York, and Modern Art in London. Currently he is
cooperating with the composer Karlheinz Essl on an installation
shown at the Essl Museum in Vienna/Klosterneuburg.
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