Download as PDF file - Museum Frieder Burda

Press-release
Works by William N. Copley from nearly 50 years in Baden-Baden
Grand Copley retrospective
at the Museum Frieder Burda
Trendy, poetic and peculiar: Paintings by the unconventional American artist
Baden-Baden. Stripes, rhombuses, chequers or hearts are the shapes William N. Copley uses
to humorously depict the battle of sexes. He cryptically sets his figures in an environment of lush
decoration. From 18 February 2012 to 10 June 2012 the Museum Frieder Burda presents a
comprehensive retrospective of the American artist (1919 to 1996). More than 80 works by the
artist are shown. From the mid 40ies on, as a gallery owner, artist, author and editor, Copley
acted as an important mediator between surrealists and the pop art movement and certainly was
one of the most unconventional celebrities of the arts scene.
In the tradition of dada, surrealism and American pop art, William N. Copley ironically deals with
the erotic game between man and woman in all its facets. When asked whether he had a theory
on his style, he answered in a 1968 interview: “No, it just seems as if I were doomed to explore
the tragedy of man and woman. That probably is chaplinesque.”
Just as the solo exhibitions Polke, Richter and Baselitz, previously shown at the Museum Frieder
Burda, this special exhibition is based on the works from the collection Frieder Burda. Frieder
Burda started collecting works by Copley at a very early stage and now owns a considerable
number of works that are shown together for the first time. The exhibition is completed by
international loans and works from the estate of the artist some of which are publicly exhibited
for the first time.
Copley’s life was not a straight line: his parents passed away early, Copley himself was found on
the threshold of a New York hospice in 1919. Two years later, he was adopted by Ira and Edith
Copley, wealthy news paper publishers from Illinois. Between 1932 and 1936, Copley was at the
Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, then two years at Yale University. In 1940 he
joined the US Army, went to Italy and Africa as a soldier, returned home as a reporter and grew
fond of surrealism. In 1947 he taught himself to paint. First, simply to enhance his writing skills,
as he wanted to become an author.
A poet should work visually, Copley thought, and a painter poetically. He had deleted the
melodious vowels from his name and from then on made the unutterable CPLY his brand and
signed his pictures with it.
MUSEUM FRIEDER BURDA: LICHTENTALER ALLEE 8b D- 76530 BADEN- BADEN WWW.MUSEUM- FRIEDER- BURDA.DE
MEDIEN- UND ÖFFENTLICHKEITSARBEIT: KOPPELSTÄTTER KOMMUNIKATION · FRIEDRICHSTRASSE 2 · D- 76530 BADEN- BADEN
TEL.: +49/(0)7221/97372- 11 · FAX:+49/(0)7221/97372- 22 · HOK@KOPPELSTAETTER- KOMMUNIKATION.DE

-2-
In Los Angeles he founded a gallery to promote surrealist artists, but failed financially.
Copley bought some of his works himself and thus laid the foundations for his art collection
which later became one of the most important surrealist collections with works by Marcel
Duchamp, Man Ray, Max Ernst, René Magritte and Yves Tanguy.
The dashing free spirit Copley traveled frequently: from 1951 in Paris, he rated Man Ray, Marcel
Duchamp, Max Ernst and René Magritte among his friends before he returned to the US ten
years later and became part of the New York arts scene. He maintained relations with Christo,
Roy Lichtenstein and later also with Andy Warhol.
Götz Adriani is the curator of this comprehensive retrospective
Götz Adriani is the curator of this comprehensive retrospective that paints a new picture of the
artist’s various facets, especially through a series of aquarelles never before publicly exhibited.
Adriani describes Copley as follows: “A minimalist with baroque features who remained faithful
not only to his peculiar subjects, but also to his cunningly steered artlessness during all his artist
life. Mostly, he stuck to clear-cut picture punch-lines and a rather graphical approach. He
achieved a remarkable variety in composition and color with his combination of contentual
standards and highly abstract abbreviations.”
Copley spent the last ten years of his life rather isolated. He used the living room of his house for
painting and sailed around in a boat. In 1996 he died at the age of 77 from a stroke. What
remains is his work: a keen and entertaining picture of the attraction between men and women.
A comprehensive catalog in german and english is publishing with texts by Götz Adriani, Georg
Baselitz, William Copley, Billy Copley, Judith Irrgang, Andy Warhol and others. Kehrer Verlag
Heidelberg – Berlin, price in the museum: 29 Euro.
Baden-Baden, February 2012
Info:
„Copley“
18 February 2012 – 10 June 2012
Upcoming events:
„Léger – Laurens. Tête-à-Tête“
23 June 2012 – 4 November 2012
Two French artists are at the center of this exhibition. The contemporaries Fernand Léger (1881
– 1955) and Henri Laurens (1885 – 1954) are contrasted at the Museum Frieder Burda. Parallel
subjects, common interests, as well as the friendship between the two artists are the focus of
the exhibition. Many high-ranking works of art are loans from the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Two
sculptures by Henri Laurens from the collection Frieder Burda are in the exhibition: ”The Mother“
and “The grand Motherhood“. Jean-Louis Prat is the curator of the exhibition.
MUSEUM FRIEDER BURDA: LICHTENTALER ALLEE 8b D- 76530 BADEN- BADEN WWW.MUSEUM- FRIEDER- BURDA.DE
MEDIEN- UND ÖFFENTLICHKEITSARBEIT: KOPPELSTÄTTER KOMMUNIKATION · FRIEDRICHSTRASSE 2 · D- 76530 BADEN- BADEN
TEL.: +49/(0)7221/97372- 11 · FAX:+49/(0)7221/97372- 22 · HOK@KOPPELSTAETTER- KOMMUNIKATION.DE

-3-
Museum Frieder Burda
Lichtentaler Allee 8b, 76530 Baden-Baden, www.museum-frieder-burda.de
Tel: 0049 (0)7221/39898-0, Fax: 0049 (0)7221/39898-30
Opening hours: Tue to Sun 10 AM to 6 PM, Closed on Mondays (except for holidays)
The Museum Frieder Burda on facebook.
Press contact:
Horst Koppelstätter and Ute Bauermeister
Koppelstätter Kommunikation
Friedrichstr. 2, 76530 Baden-Baden
Tel: 0049 (0)7221/97372-0, Fax: 0049 (0)7221/97372-22
museum@koppelstaetter-kommunikation.de
MUSEUM FRIEDER BURDA: LICHTENTALER ALLEE 8b D- 76530 BADEN- BADEN WWW.MUSEUM- FRIEDER- BURDA.DE
MEDIEN- UND ÖFFENTLICHKEITSARBEIT: KOPPELSTÄTTER KOMMUNIKATION · FRIEDRICHSTRASSE 2 · D- 76530 BADEN- BADEN
TEL.: +49/(0)7221/97372- 11 · FAX:+49/(0)7221/97372- 22 · HOK@KOPPELSTAETTER- KOMMUNIKATION.DE