A World Seen Upside Down... Baselitz, Who Has Resisted Rules

[Anchor]

An exhibition is underway for Georg Baselitz, a master of German Neo-Expressionism renowned for his inverted paintings. This marks the first major retrospective since his passing this April.

Reporter Lee Ju-sang has the details.

[Reporter]

[Georg Baselitz / Until December 27 / Sehwa Museum of Art]

A canvas depicting two cows is divided in half, disrupting familiar visual orders.

Through the severed composition, the images are no longer idyllic.

[Sunwoo Ji-eun, Exhibition Planning Team Leader at Sehwa Museum of Art: Having experienced wars, I think he came to capture images on canvas that were divided, fragmented, and cut apart amidst what might have otherwise seemed like peaceful landscapes.]

Baselitz focused his attention on legs and feet.

Compared to the head, which symbolizes reason and logic, he emphasized through painting and sculpture the importance of feet, which allow us to touch the ground and move forward, despite receiving less attention.

By portraying an eagle, a symbol of Germany, plunging toward the ground, he rejects authority and resists idolatry.

[Sunwoo Ji-eun, Exhibition Planning Team Leader at Sehwa Museum of Art: In a way, it also allows us to capture points such as Germany's turbulent history and the scars of war.]

This anti-authoritarian consciousness retreats from history back to the human being.

The distorted bodies and faint figures are fragile as if about to break, and are turned upside down.

[Sunwoo Ji-eun, Exhibition Planning Team Leader at Sehwa Museum of Art: It is also a work that shows an attitude of humbly accepting what is to come—death between life and death—that which is mortal.]

The gold paintings he immersed himself in until just before his death demonstrate the paradox of life's splendor and finiteness.

[Ahn Mi-hee, Director of Sehwa Museum of Art: We always live seeing things the right way up in a right-side-up world, so why not take the opportunity to flip things around for once and look at the worlds we fail to see?]

Spanning from his early works in 1966 to sculptures and his recent posthumous works, visitors can view Baselitz's 60-year artistic journey all in one place.

(Video Editing: Lee Sang-min, VJ: Oh Se-gwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.