Because of the publication KUNST IM LANDTAG: PAARE on Katharina and Johannes Duwe I was inspired to devote a series of blogs to famous artist couples. Here is the first one. Not so famous this couple, but at the time of the publication ( available at http://www.ftn-books.com) presented as an artist couple at the DER LANDTAG venue. Of these two i have a personal preference….of these two i like Katharina over Johannes, but both have their own qualities.
Johannes Duwe was born in 1956 and was primarily inspired by the 1970s. Conceptualism is often perceived as a response to Minimalism, and the dominant art movement of the 1970s, challenging the boundaries of art with its revolutionary features. The movements that ensued were all representative of a strong desire to progress and consolidate the art world, in response to the tensions of the previous 1960s. Process art branched out from Conceptualism, featuring some of its most essential aspects, but going further in creating mysterious and experimental artistic journeys, while Land Art brought creation to the outsides, initiating early philosophies of environmentalism. In Germany, Expressive figure painting was given a second chance for the first time since the decline of Abstract Expressionism almost two decades, the genre regained its distinction through the brushstrokes of Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer and Georg Baselitz. The cosmopolitan and refined position that New York city held in the 1960s remained just as influential in the 1970s. With multiple international renowned artists gravitating the galleries and downtown scene, the city once again strengthened its reputation as the artistic hub of the era. Across the globe, numerous movements defined the 1970s. Amongst others, feminism and the new radical philosophies it occasioned strongly influenced the visual culture. Photorealism, which had emerged in the 1960s, also received critical and commercial success. The critical, prominent artistic pillars of New York city started to embrace painters and sculptors from Latin America.