Anton Henning / Interieur No. 493
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In his first solo show in Scotland, German artist Anton Henning creates a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) within Talbot Rice Gallery. Bright painted walls transform the space providing a backdrop for the exhibition, which brings together furniture, lighting, easel painting, sculpture, window painting and drawing.
Henning’s bold, individual style, fluent in art historical references, challenges notions of ‘good’ taste. His work pays homage to revered Modern artists like Matisse and Picabia while including subject matter such as ‘chocolate box’ images of birds and sunsets and naked female figures that are often subject to censure. Henning’s approach also draws from the movement of ‘bad painting’ of the late 1970s and 1980s, a movement of artists disregarding restrictive conventions in order to explore alternative possibilities in painting. In Germany this movement had a particularly rebellious attitude with the Neue Wilde (Young Wild Ones) and artists like Martin Kippenberger.
The use of space in this exhibition bypasses the ubiquitous ‘rational’ white cube. In the environments Henning creates, paintings melt into their surroundings and furniture and bright colours suggest a more domestic environment. Henning is idiosyncratic and moves away from the cold, conceptual boundaries of much contemporary art to embark upon an exploration of what has been described as ‘painterly desire’. In this spirit Henning’s practice hinges on an individualistic lust for life that is compelling and uncomfortable at the same time.
Supported by Blain Southern.
Exhibition Guide
Published on the occasion of 'Anton Henning / Interieur No. 493' at Talbot Rice Gallery, The University of Edinburgh.
Texts are available to view below or download.
As you acclimatise you sense something familiar but uncanny about the space. Bright colours lock together like giant wooden building blocks to transform Talbot Rice Gallery. The carpet underfoot feels soft and spongy and you are conscious of the way you walk upon it. It feels comfortable. The furniture on display looks clean and modern and free of clutter, yet the numerous paintings are loaded with bold art historical references. This is a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) including easel, window and wall painting, furniture, film, lighting, sculpture and drawing. It is the first solo show in Scotland by the German artist Anton Henning.
You might learn about ‘good’ taste in a book or from a lesson, but to know what is really at stake when we decide what is good or bad we need to be taken out of familiar surroundings and look at things from a position of uncertainty. Study the painting Pin-up No. 158 (No. 2). A bronzed body lies in the sun – on a soft, fleshy, molten beach. Her eyes are closed; she has bright blond hair and warm smooth skin. At once you are hit by a wave of conflicting feelings and questions. Art Theory has long exposed the ‘male gaze’ and the objectification of women. How should you gaze at this work or should you gaze at all? How disinterested should you be? You swallow and feel the muscles of your throat press in and out. You lick your lips without thinking. If this is about desire, should you feel it?
Henning is idiosyncratic and moves away from the cold, conformist conceptual boundaries of much contemporary art to embark upon an exploration of what has been described as ‘painterly desire’. In this spirit Henning’s intuitive and hedonistic practice hinges on a pointed strategy of seduction that may be experienced as compelling and uncomfortable at the same time. Anton Henning lives and works in Manker, Germany.
