Download as PDF file - Museum Frieder Burda

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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