Lothar Hempel (born 1966 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

) is a German artist based in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. He attended

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová, ...

from 1987 to 1992.

Artistic practice

Hempel transforms the exhibition space into a stage on which the visitor becomes an actor in a story full of cross-references and contradictions. The works are at once the synopsis, the set, the characters and the props of a play. They represent the different parts of a narrative created out of references to

German history The Germani tribes i.e. Germanic tribes are now considered to be related to the Jastorf culture before expanding and interacting with the other peoples. The concept of a region for Germanic tribes is traced to time of Julius Caesar, a Roman gen ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Greek tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, political and social history, neurology, and

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

, for instance.. Hempel borrows a number of different styles and strategies, whether invented by

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...

, the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

or Joseph Beuys. He uses visual metaphors by incorporating images or found objects.

Exhibition history

In 2007 Hempel's work was the subject of the retrospective exhibition 'Alphabet City' curated by Florence Derieux at Le Magasin, Grenoble. Museum exhibitions include Casanova,

The Douglas Hyde Gallery The Douglas Hyde Gallery is a publicly funded contemporary art gallery situated within the historical setting of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. When the Gallery opened in 1978, it was for a number of years Ireland's only public gallery of ...

, Dublin (2008); Concentrations 42,

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

, Dallas (2002), and Propaganda,

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

, London (2002). Lothar Hempel's work has been included in the exhibitions ''Heaven'', Athens Biennale (2009), ''Le Song D’un Poete'', Frac des Pays de la Loire, Nantes (2009); ''Beaufort 03'', Triennial for Contemporary Art, Blankenberge (2009); 7th Gwangju Biennial (2008); ''Pale Carnage'',

Arnolfini Arnolfini is an international arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also a ...

, Bristol and DCA, Dundee (2007); ''Imagination becomes Reality''. Werke aus der Sammlung Goetz, ZKM – Museum für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe (2007). Hempel has exhibited regularly since 1991, during which time his work has been seen in exhibitions at art institutions, among them: the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

;

Tate Liverpool Tate Liverpool is an art gallery and museum in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The museum was an initiative of the Merseyside Development Corpo ...

, ICA, London;

Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

, Amsterdam;

MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...

, New York;

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary ...

;

Portikus Portikus is an exhibition hall for contemporary art in Frankfurt am Main, that was founded in 1987 by Kasper König. The museum is part of the Museumsufer. Portikus presents the work of internationally renowned artists, and exhibits younger, emer ...

, Frankfurt am Main; Secession, Vienna;

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

, Paris. Solo Exhibitions 2018 *Le Terrain Vague, Modern Art, London *Koexistenz, Window on Broad project space, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, USA *Gargoyle, Italic, Berlin, Germany 2017 *Oral Heart, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *FUTURE MUSIC, Casado Santapau, Madrid, Spain 2016 *Working Girl, Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf, Germany *Sex and the City, Art : Concept, Paris, France 2015 *Tropenkoller, Modern Art, London 2014 *PEOPLE LIKE YOU MAKE IT EASY, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *Luggage and Observations, Galerie Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart, Germany 2013 *Loneliness is a cloak you wear, a deep shade of blue is always there, Gerhardsen Gerner, Berlin, Germany *Songs for the Blind, Hezi Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel *Art Basel Parcours, Museum Kleines Klingental, Basel, Switzerland 2012 *The Story of the Old New Girls, Art : Concept, Paris, France *Opium, La Conservera, Ceuti, Spain 2011 *Suedehead, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 2010 *Silberblick / Squint, Modern Art, London *ZOO, Sadler's Wells, London *Pyramix Pix, c/o – Gerhardsen Gerner, Berlin, Germany 2009 *Kats, Nerves, Shadows & Gin, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *Rise and Fall, MGM, Oslo, Norway *Cafe Kaputt, Gio Marconi, Milan, Italy 2008 *Casanova & Other Problems, Modern Art, London *Casanova, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ireland *Signal, Art : Concept, Paris, France 2007 *Alphabet City, Magasin – Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France *Modern Art, London *Effetti Speciali, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany 2006 *Vanessa Baird - Me, myself and the other one, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany *Umbrella, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *Tarantella, Bar Ornella, Cologne, Germany 2005 *Casa Musica (extrema), Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany *Butterfly, c/o Alte Gerhardsen, Art Nova, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, FL, USA 2004 *Fieber/Fever: 5 New Paintings and Other Stories, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *Ikarus, Art : Concept, Paris, France *On The Olympus, Unlimited Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece *Versteck!, with Petra Hollenbach, Parkhaus, Düsseldorf, Germany 2003 *Der Gesang der Vögel ist Sinnlos!, The Song of the Bird is Nonsense, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 2002 *Diamanten, c/o Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany *Fleisch: Maschine, Magnani, London *Concentrations 42, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, USA *Propaganda, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London *Wespennest, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, USA 2001 *Magnet, Art : Concept, Paris, France 2000 *Das Orakel l’chelt. das Orakel lacht. das Orakel l’chelt, Ars Futura Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland *An Schlaf ist Nicht zu Denken, Lab of Gravity, Hamburg, Germany *Wespennest (Wasps Nest) Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 1999 *Amerika Verschwindet nur das L’cheln Bleibt (America Disappears Only the Smile Remains), Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *KAPUTT und die Folgen (Kaputt and the Consequences), Robert Prime, London *Videos, Centre Saint Gervais, Geneva, Switzerland 1998 *Ein Sandstrand voll Glas (A Beach Full of Glass), Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany *Kunstschnee will Schmelzen, Bureau Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1997 *Samstag Morgen, Zuckersumpf, Robert Prime, London *This Bittersweet Disaster, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 1996 *Strom, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *The Bienenkorb Times, Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany *FRAC Languedoc Roussillon, Montpellier, France 1994 *LOW, Artistbooth, Cologne Art Fair, Cologne, Germany *LA BOUM, with Thorsten Slama, New Reality Mix, Stockholm, Sweden2007 *Alphabet City, Magasin – Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France *Modern Art, London *Effetti Speciali, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany 2006 *Vanessa Baird - Me, myself and the other one, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany *Umbrella, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *Tarantella, Bar Ornella, Cologne, Germany 2005 *Casa Musica (extrema), Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany *Butterfly, c/o Alte Gerhardsen, Art Nova, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, FL, USA 2004 *Fieber/Fever: 5 New Paintings and Other Stories, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *Ikarus, Art : Concept, Paris, France *On The Olympus, Unlimited Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece *Versteck!, with Petra Hollenbach, Parkhaus, Düsseldorf, Germany 2003 *Der Gesang der Vögel ist Sinnlos!, The Song of the Bird is Nonsense, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 2002 *Diamanten, c/o Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany *Fleisch: Maschine, Magnani, London *Concentrations 42, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, USA *Propaganda, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London *Wespennest, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, USA 2001 *Magnet, Art : Concept, Paris, France 2000 *Das Orakel l’chelt. das Orakel lacht. das Orakel l’chelt, Ars Futura Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland *An Schlaf ist Nicht zu Denken, Lab of Gravity, Hamburg, Germany *Wespennest (Wasps Nest) Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 1999 *Amerika Verschwindet nur das L’cheln Bleibt (America Disappears Only the Smile Remains), Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *KAPUTT und die Folgen (Kaputt and the Consequences), Robert Prime, London *Videos, Centre Saint Gervais, Geneva, Switzerland 1998 *Ein Sandstrand voll Glas (A Beach Full of Glass), Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany *Kunstschnee will Schmelzen, Bureau Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1997 *Samstag Morgen, Zuckersumpf, Robert Prime, London *This Bittersweet Disaster, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 1996 *Strom, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA *The Bienenkorb Times, Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany *FRAC Languedoc Roussillon, Montpellier, France 1994 *LOW, Artistbooth, Cologne Art Fair, Cologne, Germany *LA BOUM, with Thorsten Slama, New Reality Mix, Stockholm, Sweden *OMRON: six videos by Lothar Hempel, Preview Theatre Wardour Street, London *Bewegungslehre (No Future), Buchholz und Buchholz, Cologne, Germany 1992 *240 Minuten, with George Graw, Galerie Esther Schipper, Cologne, Germany

Galleries

Lothar Hempel is represented by Art:Concept, Paris; Giò Marconi Gallery, Milan; Gerhardsen Gerner, Berlin/Oslo; Anton Kern Gallery, New York
Stuart Shave/Modern Art
London, and Casado Santapau Gallery, Madrid.

Selected Collections

Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway David Roberts Art Foundation, London Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris, France Fondazione Morra Greco, Naples, Italy Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France FRAC Limousin, Limoges, France FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou, France Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst GfZK, Leipzig, Germany Honart Museum / Ebrahim Melamed Collection, Tehran, Iran Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA Sammlung Goetz, Munich, Germany The Saatchi Gallery, London Zabludowicz Collection, London

References

External links

* https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/200706/lothar-hempel-15382
Lothar Hempel
in

Frieze (magazine) ''frieze'' is a contemporary art magazine, published eight times a year from London. History ''frieze'' was founded in 1991 by Frieze Art Fair founders Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover with artist Tom Gidley. A Damien Hirst butterfly painting ...

Lothar Hempel – Painting – Saatchi GalleryArtfacts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hempel, Lothar 1966 births Living people Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni German contemporary artists