Anton Henning: Too Much Skin, Taste & Turpentine

“It’s wonderful to have Anton Henning in Sweden at last,” says exhibition curator Richard Julin. “His ingenious way of playing with the present and the history of art is unique. It’s almost impossible to put his real significance into words. The exhibition we’ve created is the best text about his art, for it’s in the various rooms that you get the total art experience that always arises from an encounter with Henning. He’s just as unafraid to upset as he is to delight, and leaves no one unmoved.”

Anton Henning’s work is often described as a Gesamtkunstwerk – a total work of art – and constantly challenges notions of good taste, especially with the many nude portraits he calls “Pin-ups”. He also comments on the nudist culture that emerged in Germany during the 1920s and 30s. Voyeurism is a recurrent theme in Henning’s works, and so the salon, with Hen- ning’s paintings, furniture, lighting and objects, becomes an arena for observing and being observed. He freely synthesizes painting, drawing, sculpture and video into large environments and shifts fluidly between abstract expression and figurative elements to create his own idiosyncratic world of representation. Anton Henning has a special relationship with modernism and artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, but moves with ease through art history and the present.

Anton Henning was born in 1964 in Berlin. He lives and works in Berlin and Manker. His work has been shown in numerous institutional solo-exhibitions including Mamco, Geneva (2012); Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh (2011); De Pont Museum, Tilburg (2009 & 2002); Kunsthalle Mannheim (2009); Wilhelm-Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen (2009); Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (2008); S.M.A.K Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent (2007); Museum Haus Esters, Krefeld (2006); MARTa, Herford (2005); Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main (2005); Kunstmuseum Luzern (2004); Kasseler Kunstverein, Kassel (1998); White Columns, New York (1995); University of Oklahoma, Museum of Art, Norman, Oklahoma (1990).

Artist Talk:

An artist talk will take place at Magasin 3 on September 7th, at 5pm. Curator Richard Julin talks to Anton Henning about his artistic practice and the exhibition.