This month, we will be visiting the Talbot Rice Gallery to see the first solo exhibition in Scotland of German artist, Anton Henning who has created Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art).
Henning’s bold, individual style, fluent in art historical references, challenges notions of ‘good’ taste. His work pays homage to revered modern artists like Matisse and Picabia, while including subject matter such as ‘chocolate box’ images of birds, sunsets and naked female figures that are often subject to censure. Henning’s approach also draws from the movement of ‘bad painting’ of the late 1970s and 1980s, a movement of artists disregarding restrictive conventions in order to explore alternative possibilities in painting.
Henning’s work for the Talbot Rice Gallery, Interieur No.493, fills the entire space, inviting the audience to not just view it, but at points, walk over it. Even the carpet is part of the art work. Henning uses several different art forms including, furniture, lighting, easel painting, sculpture, window painting, film and drawing.
