Markus Lüpertz

1941 born in Liberec, Bohemia

1948 flees with his family to Rheydt in theRheinland

1956-61 studies at the Werkkunstschule Krefeld with Laurens Goosens.

scolarship at Kloster Maria Laach (Kreuzigungsbilder);

works for one year in coalmining; studies in Krefeld und at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf; works in road construction, stays in Paris.

since 1961 working as a free artist

1962 moves to Berlin, beginning of "dithyrambic painting"

1964 opening of Galerie Grobgörschen 35 in Berlin with the exhibition "Dithyrambische Malerei".

1966 publishes the manifest: "Kunst, die im Wege steht. Dithyrambisches Manifest", Galerie Großgörschen 35, Berlin; Galerie Potsdamer, Berlin.

1968 publishes the manifest: "Die Anmut des 20. Jahrhunderts wird durch die von mir erfundene Dithyrambe sichtbar gemacht", Galerie Rudolf Springer, Berlin,

Galerie Michael Werner, Berlin; Galerie Hake, Köln.

1970 Preis der Villa Romana, der mit einem einjährigen Aufenthalt in Florenz verbunden ist.

1971 price of the Deutscher Kritikerverband.

1974 participation at the first Biennale Berlin. Guest professor and since 1976 Professur at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Karlsruhe.

1975 edition of his first poems "9 x 9".

1977 murals for the crematorium Ruhleben in Berlin;
withdrawal of his works at documenta 6 in Kassel.

1981 publishes the peoms "und ich spiele, ich spiele...".

1982 stage design for the opera "Vincent" by Rainer Kunad at the Staatstheater Kassel.

Edits the poems "Ich stand vor der Mauer aus Glas".

1983 stage design for the opera "Werther" by Jules Massenet at the Ulmer Theater (the stage design is removed by the interpreters before the first night)

professor at the Sommerakademie in Salzburg.

Publishes the poems "Gedichte 1961-1983, Auswahl".

1984 residence in New York; publication of "Tagebuch NewYork 1984" and "Bleiben Sie sitzen Heinrich Heine".

1986 professor at the Staatlichen Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, since 1988 rector there

1989-90 designs churchs windows for the cathedral of Nevers.

1990 Lovis-Corinth-Preis of the artist's guild Esslingen.

1991 stage design and costumes for the opera "Der Sturm" by Frank Martin (after William Shakespeare) at the Bremer Theater.

1998 Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal

Markus Lüpertz lives and works in Berlin and Düsseldorf.

The olymp as »heaven for the painter«, as »an assembly of his dead collegues«- these are the aims of Markus Lüpertz, the real center of his motivation, as Armin Zweite writes in his catalogue to the Markus Lüpertz exhibition in the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen.

If painting is grand, than as well because it is difficult. »Heaven for painters« or »assembly of dead collegues« point to his awareness for artistic traditions as do some titles of his works: " Markus Maillol" or "after Corot". At the same time he emphazises that not only does he defend traditional values, but as well is he willing to appropriate these to his own work. His attitude, that some of his collegues define as radical, is rather an attitude of enlightenment. All along people have doubted his aims, have declared painting as dead, while he knows it is eternal. Lüpertz has not only lived with these contradictions, but he found new ways of painting in contradition, because he is able to express it. Today his sense of ambiguity is so sharp that his art comunicates as well the opposite. For the spectator of Lüpertz's works these contradictions are a sophistiacted echange of ideas, that are reflected in one's owns thoughts.