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Richard Gerstl

Inspiration – Legacy

Aug 14–Dec 4, 2022
@Kunsthaus Zug
11

Rebellious, radical, unsparing. For his contemporaries, the painting of Richard Gerstl (1883-1908) was too extreme. Today he is regarded as the “first Austrian Expressionist” with a body of work of unbroken explosive power, who is to be inscribed as a central figure in the avant-garde of art history.

The special exhibition Richard Gerstl. Inspiration – Legacy shows almost all of Gerstl’s major works from Vienna, New York and Zug and combines them with contemporary positions. Impressed and inspired by his radical painting style and uncompromising attitude, artists such as Otto Muehl, Georg Baselitz, Günter Brus and Martha Jungwirth dealt with his oeuvre. Their works show: Gerstl’s work continues to have an impact today. The exhibition also outlines Gerstl’s artistic environment at the time with works from the museum’s own collection by Gustav Klimt, Edvard Munch and Egon Schiele, among others.

Gerstl’s international rediscovery is closely linked to the Kunsthaus Zug: As artistic director of Galerie Würthle, owned by Fritz and Editha Kamm-Ehrbar in Zug, the Austrian artist Fritz Wotruba acquired Gerstl’s estate. With exhibitions and loans, Wotruba and the Kamms contributed significantly to the artist’s fame. Today, the Kunsthaus Zug is responsible for the world’s second largest Gerstl collection after the Leopold Museum in Vienna, with which the current exhibition was developed in cooperation. A joint publication has also been published to accompany the exhibition.

Curated by

Matthias Haldemann

Trailer and exhibition views with artworks by the following artists:

Theo Altenberg, Martha Jungwirth, Otto Muehl © 2024, ProLitteris, Zurich / Georg Baselitz, Herbert Brandl, Günter Brus, Hermann Nitsch, Richard Gerstl

Kunsthaus Zug, Richard Gerstl, press kit
ZIP