Untitled

Anonymously walking in the street next to another man, Martin Kippenberger becomes the unidentifiable subject of a painting he did not paint. This artwork that looks like a photograph is actually an oil on canvas painting based on a photograph, which the artist commissioned to an advertising poster painter.

Presented in Berlin in 1981, the Lieber Maler, male mir series (“dear painter, paint for me”) includes paintings made by Werner and based on Kippenberger's photographs. Often, the artist is unrecognizable, either alone or accompanied by other artists as well as friends and critics. This series explores the notions of style, originality and authorship. The artist used the practice of poster throughout his career, as it also explores these same questions.

The Untitled painting made by Werner based on a photograph by Martin Kippenberger was first presented by the Pinault Collection in the exhibition Dancing With Myself at the Museum Folkwang in Essen (2016).