Object "Book with Hand-Sprayed Banana" (2019)
Object "Book with Hand-Sprayed Banana" (2019)
Quick info
limited, 99 copies | numbered | signed | spray lacquer on book | size 31 x 24.3 x 3.5 cm (h x w x d)
Detailed description
Object "Book with Hand-Sprayed Banana" (2019)
Book with hand-sprayed banana on the title, 2019. Edition: 99 copies, numbered and signed by hand. Height: 31 cm. Width: 24.3 cm. Depth: 3.5 cm.
Producer: ARTES Kunsthandelsgesellschaft mbH, Bödekerstraße 13, 30161 Hannover, Deutschland E-Mail: info@kunsthaus-artes.de
About Thomas Baumgärtel
Thomas Baumgärtel (born in 1960), known as the "Banana Sprayer", is now a respected artist for whose artworks the yellow fruit plays a leading role.
Since 1986, he has been marking the most interesting locations worldwide - from New York to Beijing - with his banana. It has become the logo of the art scene and can be found at the entrance of almost all galleries and museums of modern art worldwide. For Baumgärtel, the banana symbolises the freedom of art, which also involves being able to have subversive fun by establishing banal graffiti as an artistic logo in public space.
Thomas Baumgärtel's works, however, are not just fun and provocation - the well-known artist also deals with current political issues, which he critically relates to his unmistakable distinctive logo. Without hesitation, he depicts former U.S. President Donald Trump in a monkey-like manner with a banana in his mouth and in front of the American flag. The image, created in 2016, is already part of a private collection and was published online by Baumgärtel on Twitter for self-promotion. But the image was taken down by Twitter. The artist then complained about the censorship and said: "This is going too far, if this is really happening freedom of speech is over. It gives me the creeps." - And this, precisely considering the fact that the banana symbolises freedom of art for him.
Contemporary art created from objects that are not normally considered materials from which art is made.
Object art was a means of expression of Cubism, Dadaism and Surrealism, and over time, it has developed various representational techniques up to the present day.
A plastic work of sculptural art made of wood, stone, ivory, bronze or other metals.
While sculptures made of wood, ivory, or stone are carved directly from the material block, in bronze casting, a working model is prepared at first. Usually, it is made of clay or other easily mouldable materials.
The prime time of sculpture after the Greek and Roman antiquity was the Renaissance. Impressionism gave a new impulse to the sculptural arts. Contemporary artists such as Jorg Immendorf, Andora, and Markus Lupertz also enriched sculptures with outstanding works.