Georg Baselitz: Sculptures 2011-2015

“Sculpture is a thing like a miracle. It is built up, decked out, made arbitrarily not as the sign of thoughts but as a thing within the limits of the shape.” Georg Baselitz

Georg Baselitz: Sculptures 2011-2015 showcases never-before-seen, towering sculptures alongside loose, inky drawings. This exhibition invites visitors to enter a forest of raw, wooden sculptures and provides new insights into the artist's process and how his works influence one another across mediums.

In Adrianne's words: I learned that originally, the sculptures in this exhibition were not intended for public display. They were created as maquettes or models prior to the creation of bronze works. I thought this particular aspect to be extremely intriguing, and reminded me of the behind the scenes in my creations. I love looking at my preliminary sketches, the initial prototypes that preceded the final design, or old pictures of fittings. The transitional process from the first concept to the ultimate realisation of a product is often accompanied by a sense of enchantment. It's always fascinating to look at the genesis of everything, to get an entry point into a creator's mind.

In the exhibition, each wooden sculpture is carved from a single tree trunk using power saws, axes, and chisels by Baselitz. The surfaces of his robust, imposing figures feature distinct incisions and grooves that evoke the grain of wood. These wooden sculptures, displayed in Serpentine South, which is surrounded by the trees of Kensington Gardens, recall their original living forms in the forests of Saxony.

The two black ink paintings particularly grabbed my attention. The rawness of the canvas, contrasted by the darkness of the ink profoundly inspired me. It was as if I were witnessing my philosophy in action. Whenever I envisage a design I like to imagine the people who will wear it as a blank canvas, and myself as the artist providing the paint.

Through Adrianne's eyes: