Joseph Beuys – Sculptures / Sculptures

Joseph Beuys transferred us to a state of astonishment with each new sculpture. As these works increasingly found their places in museums, we recognized that they did not fulfil that solitary museological appropriation. No monuments to happiness, and none to solitude! Joseph Beuys insisted instead on a definition of art, which asked questions, he insisted on parables and thought images (Denkbilder), which must reflect our existence in all its destitution and yet hidden richness. Everything in this grandiose œuvre, the seemingly archaic architecture of form and colour, has passed through this thought image: a truth that could be passed for Joseph Beuys the only aesthetic that counted.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition »Joseph Beuys – Sculptures and Objects«, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Nov. 26, 2015 – Nov. 27, 2017.