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allegories was my main genre of painting
since my teens. Sometimes – as in many of these – it's hard to tell
whether a painting should be called an allegory or a portrait, but I
have a special fondness for both of these genres, partially because
many of my favorites in the history of painting belong to these, but
also because I have taken it to be my responsibility to prove that
these formats are still valid, useful in contemporary painting too.
This latter motivation grew strong, when I noticed that those who were
interested for example in my videos, performances and photos, often
were categorically dismissive of painting as a genre. This caused
irritation that encouraged me to consciously acknowledge and show my
roots in the tradition that runs from Giotto
(1267–1337) via Giovanni Bellini
(1426–1516), Matthias Grünewald
(1475–1528) via Francis Goya
(1746–1828), Otto Dix
(1891–1969), Max
Beckmann (1884–1950), Keith Haring (1958–1990), A.R. Penck (1939–), Martin Kippenberger (1953–1997), Adolf Wölfli (1864–1930) to for
example Chris Hipkiss (1964–).
I've also tried to show that figures like Henri Matisse
(1869–1953) were not just preformalists and ancestors of abstract art,
but simultaneously also exponents of allegorical painting, painting
that
deals with the questions of everyday world instead of turning its back
to it in favour of aesthetic make-believe.
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