Arnulf Rainer: The Overpainter

From the Museum Website

Following the display of Cy Twombly’s most recent sculptures in 2006, the Pinakothek der Moderne is once again devoting an exhibition in the Alte Pinakothek to a major contemporary artist whose seeks to enter a dialogue with traditional art.

Since the 1950s, Rainer’s output has evolved in a dialectic field between two poles - a calm, meditative application of paint on the one hand and a physically powerful expressiveness on the other. Rainer’s method of ‘overpainting’ - a process during which areas of a picture are covered up - and the effective and frequently monochrome pictures that result, contrasts with the gestural, body-related series of works consciously created at high speed, such as his finger paintings, body poses or the reworked photographic portraits of his »Face Farces«.

Two large, predominantly classical rooms in Munich’s Alte Pinakothek will give viewers the opportunity to experience the opposing fundamental principles in Rainer’s oeuvre in its interdependency and singular appeal. In addition, works on paper from the artist’s extensive output will be shown in small exhibition rooms along with recent paintings.