Georg Baselitz Sculptures 2011-2015

"Sculpture is a thing like a miracle. It is built up, decked out, made arbitrary not as the sign of thoughts but as a thing within the limits of the shape. even if a sculpture is hung from the ceiling, it remains a thing. " - Georg Baselitz

I had held off going to see this show as I didn't think I would like Baselitz's sculpture. It turned out to be a very rewarding exhibition however, and I wished I'd visited it much earlier rather than on the penultimate day of its run. Many of the pieces were monumental in scale created from rough timber which had been carved into with power saws, axes and chisels. The scars and gouges of the tools were very much in evidence and remain an intrinsic part of the surface texture of the sculptures. These works weren't intended for public display but rather were made as maquettes to be casted in bronze. There is an intended crudeness in the execution of these rough-hewn sculptures which is a deliberate element of Baselitz's particular aesthetic. This seeming crudeness of execution can be misleading to the viewer as it disguises the challenges and complexity of creating pieces such Marokkaner (2012), below, with its attached three rings carved from a single piece of wood which are integral to the finished form. In fact figures/forms encircled by loose rings appears to be a theme which runs through this display and features in six other significant sculptures here. This piercing of holes in the sculpture to create a negative space was an idea developed by Baselitz from observing the works of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. Representation of the figure is central to these works as is Baselitz's drawing practice. The Serpentine Galleries walls are lined with various examples of Baselitz's drawings executed in both pencil and felt-tip pen which I very much enjoyed viewing after having visited other exhibitions devoted to the art of drawing at the Royal Academy of Art and Thaddaeus Ropac. Baselitz explains his drawing process thus, " sculptors have a way of producing drawings that aim at comprehending space. I don't draw like an artist or a painter. Instead, I draw more like an architect - always in a very matter-of-fact manner. That's why I've never really regarded the drawings I've selected for the exhibition as drawings."  

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Georg Baselitz Sculptures 2011-2015

until 7th January

Serpentine South Gallery

Kensington Gardens

London

W2 3XA