Martin Kippenberger

MADE BY HAND IS ALWAYS ORIGINAL

1992
graphite on paper
18 x 15 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches

Often tongue-in-cheek and unruly, though always smart and deeply curious, German artist Martin Kippenberger came on the scene in the 1980s with artists like Albert Oehlen and Werner Büttner, and was associated with the Junge Wilde group who were known for a rebellious attitude toward all culture, visual art being just one facet. Here, Kippenberger takes aim at the traditional self-portrait by drawing a pair of interconnected hands drawing themselves. He has scrawled a mix of serious and satirical words on the arms – among them “overdrawer” – and “made by hand is allways original” at the bottom to reiterate the absurdity of the work’s value. Solo exhibitions of Kippenberger’s work have been held at museums worldwide, and he is represented in numerous collections.