Marcus Neufanger

Born 1964, lives and works in Schwäbisch Hall

Lawrence Weiner
Oil pastel on paper
100 x 70 cm

Marcus Neufanger

Born 1964, lives and works in Schwäbisch Hall

Marcus Neufanger

Curriculum Vitae

1964 Born in Nuremberg / DE
Current Lives and works in Schwäbisch Hall / DE

Grants and awards

Selected Exhibitions

2024 BIS ZUM LETZTEN BILD, Kunstverein Eislingen / DE (G)
2022 BIBLIOMANIA - Das Buch in der Kunst, Kunstmuseum Villa Zanders, Bergisch Gladbach / DE (G)
2021 MADE FOR COLOGNE, Van der Grinten Galerie, Cologne / D (solo)
2020 ZAKRYTOYE OBSHCHESTVO, Katja & Felix von Döring Contemporaries, Schwäbisch Hall / DE (G)
31 : WOMEN; AFTER MARCEL DUCHAMP, Daimler Art Collection, Berlin / DE (G)
2019 Fixiert-Image und Imagination, Parrotta Contemporary Art, Cologne / DE (G)
Kunst ist immer eine Behauptung. Sammeln auch. 50 Jahre Sammlung Kraft, Kunstmuseum Villa Zanders, Bergisch Gladbach / DE (G)
Die Entdeckung des Sichtbaren – so universell wie ein Schweizer Taschenmesser, KISS, Kunsterverein im Schloss, Untergröningen / DE (G)
POESIE / Platten & Poeten, Golden Garage, Schwäbisch Hall / DE (G)
THE VOID with TALK Portraits, Museum Frieder Burda, Salon Berlin / DE (G)
2018 SILENT HIRST, Van der Grinten Galerie, Cologne / D (solo)
BOOKS/PAINTINGS, ARTBOOKSAAR, Homburg / D
2017 PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST, Van der Grinten Galerie, Cologne / D (mit Fernando de Brito)
HOUSE OF PORTRAITS, Vitamin/Kunst & Projekte, Reutlingen / D
HOUSE OF PORTRAITS, Vitamin/Kunst & Projekte, Reutlingen / D
THESE BOOKS ARE MADE FOR YOU AND ME, Portraits & Vanity Paintings, Dieter Franck Haus, Schwäbisch Hall / D
WELT OFFEN, Städtische Galerie, Pforzheim / D (mit David Rabinowitch, David Reed, Richard Tuttle, Michael Venezia, u.a.) kuratiert von Harald Kröner
DE LA TETE AUX PIEDS, La Figure humaine dans la Collection Würth, MUSÉE WÜRTH ERSTEIN / F
Beware of Greeks, Kunstverein, Krefeld / D (mit Uwe Esser, Michael Growe und Thomas Pöhler) kuratiert von Uwe Esser/DE
WIESENSTÜCK, group show, van der Grinten Galerie, Cologne /DE
2016 Fünfzig Zigarren für das Licht der Zukunft, cinquenta puros para la luz del futuro, KISS Untergröningen /DE (upcoming)
HOW TO BE UNIQUE, Sammlung Kienzle, Kienzle Art Foundation, Berlin / DE
2015 Art Cologne, salon Verlag & Edition, Cologne / DE
Cologne Fine Art, COFA, Van der Grinten Galerie, Cologne /DE
2014 BOOKS, PORTRAITS & VANITY, Van der Grinten Galerie, Cologne / DE
„l´oiseau présente…“, Ballhaus Ost, Berlin / DE
Zimmer mit Aussicht – Poetik des Raumes, KISS, Kunstverein Untergröningen / DE
2013 seance room, Stefan Schuelke fine books, Cologne / DE
WHAT A FUCKING WASTE OF TIME, (mit Alfred Müller), Kienzle Art Foundation, Berlin / DE
Fenster Fenster, L6, Freiburg / DE
Kunst und Neue Arbeitswelt, Städtische Galerie Waldkraiburg / DE
2012 GARE DE L´EST, Kunstverein Esslingen, Villa Merkel / DE
Von Kopf bis Fuß, Kunsthalle Würth, Schwäbisch Hall / DE
TEXT iles, KISS, Kunstverein Untergröningen / DE
REAL LIFE, Kunstforum Bausparkasse, Schwäbisch Hall / DE
2011 buch für buch, cover to cover, Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne / DE
carte blanche, BBK, Kunstverein Offenburg, DE
2010 Hällisch Fränkisches Museum, Schwäbisch Hall (mit Johannes Seibt) / DE
Die Sammlung Teil II, Kulturwerk T66, Freiburg / DE
2009 Lieb und teuer, Kunstverein Pforzheim / DE
4. Ellwanger Kunstausstellung, Kunstverein Ellwangen / DE
2008 7 Bilder, Schauraum, Schwäbisch Hall / D
2007 IMAGES, Spike Art Magazin, Vienna / AT
Collections Reinhold Adt, Technologiepark, Tübingen/Reutlingen / DE
Arbeiten aus der Sammlung der Graphothek Stuttgart, Stadtbücherei Stuttgart / DE
2006 AD ED ON ISA IMI SOL, Galerie Kienzle & Gmeiner, Berlin / DE
PAOLOZZIMOZZI, T66, Freiburg (mit Georg Winter) / DE
HELDENPARTY II, Wilhelmspalais in der Stadtbücherei, Stuttgart / DE
2005 Madame Realité, Städtische Galerie Waldkraiburg und Hallen für Kunst, Freiburg / DE
2004 Madame Realité, E-Werk Hallen für Kunst, Freiburg / DE
HELDENPARTY, Wilhelmspalais in der Stadtbücherei, Stuttgart / DE

Group Exhibitions (selected)

Marcus Neufanger

The Fine Days of Art Are Numbered

February 24, 2024

 — 

April 13, 2024

Marcus Neufanger

The Fine Days of Art Are Numbered

February 24, 2024

 — 

April 13, 2024

Marcus Neufanger

Made for Cologne

April 17, 2021

 — 

June 5, 2021

The new show „Made for Cologne“, which Marcus Neufanger created as a holistic installation expressly for the Van der Grinten Galerie space, presents the entirety of the artist’s 2020–2021painting production from the ‘Books’ work group. Together with the ‘Books’, the ‘Portraits’ and the ‘Vanity Plates’ comprise the three ongoing, ever-expanding blocks of work in the Marcus Neufanger oeuvre. Since the 90s, the artist has used these work series to explore as a continuum the point of engagement between an “extended” understanding of art and its “conventional” opposite.

Though the term “conceptual art” is often attributed Joseph Beuys, it actually stems from Marcel Duchamp who, in 1913/14 began to deploy his “ready mades”, print works, fakes, theories, and stratagems of infiltration and occupation to override the sole claim to valid artistic expression held by the classic instrumentarium. In Duchamps work, idea and depiction were treated equally. This baton was taken up by conceptual artists of the 60s, notably Lawrence Weiner and On Kawara, contemporaries of Beuys, whose “social sculpture” marked the ultimate watershed, forever changing the scope of accepted artistic practice and product.

Marcus Neufanger’s decision (likely a result of his personal background) to position himself in the field of a radical approach to fine art led him to a certain self-restriction, asceticism and concentration, which in turn caused him to become the constant user and resident of his own library, a seemingly endless source of ongoing inquiry and reflection.

In an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist, artist Franz Erhard Walther characterizes his love of artists’ books and the exploration of them in a statement that can be aptly applied to Marcus Neufanger as well: “Books are so important, especially because they can end up in the most improbable places. Much farther afield than exhibitions. I’m also interested in books as a medium, because artists put so much time, dedication and energy into making them – they are every bit as important as big shows”. This topic represents a key facet of recent art history, in which themes and strategies of perception and effectiveness and intra-art-world reference systems are called into question. Furthermore, the book as such is also the abiding, universal and multifunctional object of democratization.

When the medium of painting is used to transfer typography and graphic design to the canvas, a common object of daily use such as a book develops a striking effect – due to the enlargement and as an abstractly organized surface of monochrome fields and letters. It is astonishing, how the simple act of enlargement allows the “picture” of a book cover to take on a life of its own. But that’s not all: in his paintings Marcus Neufanger also transforms the aura and the physical presence of the original book into the physicality of his pictures – whether on canvas or cardboard – that arises from the painstaking and complex multi-layering of paint.

It is quite possible that a visitor to the exhibition will discover a favorite book and even a favorite picture.

Marcus Neufanger

Made for Cologne

April 17, 2021

 — 

June 5, 2021

The new show „Made for Cologne“, which Marcus Neufanger created as a holistic installation expressly for the Van der Grinten Galerie space, presents the entirety of the artist’s 2020–2021painting production from the ‘Books’ work group. Together with the ‘Books’, the ‘Portraits’ and the ‘Vanity Plates’ comprise the three ongoing, ever-expanding blocks of work in the Marcus Neufanger oeuvre. Since the 90s, the artist has used these work series to explore as a continuum the point of engagement between an “extended” understanding of art and its “conventional” opposite.

Though the term “conceptual art” is often attributed Joseph Beuys, it actually stems from Marcel Duchamp who, in 1913/14 began to deploy his “ready mades”, print works, fakes, theories, and stratagems of infiltration and occupation to override the sole claim to valid artistic expression held by the classic instrumentarium. In Duchamps work, idea and depiction were treated equally. This baton was taken up by conceptual artists of the 60s, notably Lawrence Weiner and On Kawara, contemporaries of Beuys, whose “social sculpture” marked the ultimate watershed, forever changing the scope of accepted artistic practice and product.

Marcus Neufanger’s decision (likely a result of his personal background) to position himself in the field of a radical approach to fine art led him to a certain self-restriction, asceticism and concentration, which in turn caused him to become the constant user and resident of his own library, a seemingly endless source of ongoing inquiry and reflection.

In an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist, artist Franz Erhard Walther characterizes his love of artists’ books and the exploration of them in a statement that can be aptly applied to Marcus Neufanger as well: “Books are so important, especially because they can end up in the most improbable places. Much farther afield than exhibitions. I’m also interested in books as a medium, because artists put so much time, dedication and energy into making them – they are every bit as important as big shows”. This topic represents a key facet of recent art history, in which themes and strategies of perception and effectiveness and intra-art-world reference systems are called into question. Furthermore, the book as such is also the abiding, universal and multifunctional object of democratization.

When the medium of painting is used to transfer typography and graphic design to the canvas, a common object of daily use such as a book develops a striking effect – due to the enlargement and as an abstractly organized surface of monochrome fields and letters. It is astonishing, how the simple act of enlargement allows the “picture” of a book cover to take on a life of its own. But that’s not all: in his paintings Marcus Neufanger also transforms the aura and the physical presence of the original book into the physicality of his pictures – whether on canvas or cardboard – that arises from the painstaking and complex multi-layering of paint.

It is quite possible that a visitor to the exhibition will discover a favorite book and even a favorite picture.

Marcus Neufanger

Silent Hirst

June 8, 2019

 — 

July 28, 2019

The Van der Grinten Galerie presents a new Marcus Neufanger solo show, ’Silent Hirst’, an extensive selection of mainly recent large-format drawings from the ‘Portraits’ series.

In this ongoing work series Marcus Neufanger programmatically pursues a concept stringent in both form and content: a single subject – the self-cultivated image of the artist – together with an additional graphic element in the form of lettering/text; a single, vertical format of 100 x 70 cm; a uniform, unvarying technique – oil pastel on paper –; a limited color pallet and a consistently high degree of stylizing. This work, which began in 2005, has produced a thoroughly homogeneous ensemble. There is no conclusion in sight.

Marcus Neufanger uses photographic images of the artists of his/our time as the basis for the portraits. Subjects range from performance artists of the 60s/70s to undisputed icons of contemporary art history to lesser-known figures and Neufanger’s own artist friends. Self-presentation served in the art world as a controllable vehicle for a personal statement about identity, standpoint, positioning and relevance vis-à-vis the pubic long before photography arrived to increasingly magnify the importance of personal image and a pervasive media presence. Artists have good reason for being particularly sensitive to the impact of such images, and are adept at using them to their own advantage. Early works of Albrecht Dürer give us a prime example of how the targeted self-presentation of the artist can be deployed in a clever, calculated and meaningful manner. This theme represents a significant facet of art history in which aspects such as strategies of perception and efficacy as well as frames of reference within art are explored.

By taking the liberty to appropriate pre-existing self-presentations of deceased, older and younger fellow artists, Marcus Neufanger has brought forth a cohesive tableau of faces, physical posture and quotations that offers a very interesting art history lesson: behind his seemingly simple, slightly playful pictures lurks reflection on a profound, even existential issue, one of central significance to the work of every artist. Namely: that of overcoming transience.

Marcus Neufanger

Silent Hirst

June 8, 2019

 — 

July 28, 2019

The Van der Grinten Galerie presents a new Marcus Neufanger solo show, ’Silent Hirst’, an extensive selection of mainly recent large-format drawings from the ‘Portraits’ series.

In this ongoing work series Marcus Neufanger programmatically pursues a concept stringent in both form and content: a single subject – the self-cultivated image of the artist – together with an additional graphic element in the form of lettering/text; a single, vertical format of 100 x 70 cm; a uniform, unvarying technique – oil pastel on paper –; a limited color pallet and a consistently high degree of stylizing. This work, which began in 2005, has produced a thoroughly homogeneous ensemble. There is no conclusion in sight.

Marcus Neufanger uses photographic images of the artists of his/our time as the basis for the portraits. Subjects range from performance artists of the 60s/70s to undisputed icons of contemporary art history to lesser-known figures and Neufanger’s own artist friends. Self-presentation served in the art world as a controllable vehicle for a personal statement about identity, standpoint, positioning and relevance vis-à-vis the pubic long before photography arrived to increasingly magnify the importance of personal image and a pervasive media presence. Artists have good reason for being particularly sensitive to the impact of such images, and are adept at using them to their own advantage. Early works of Albrecht Dürer give us a prime example of how the targeted self-presentation of the artist can be deployed in a clever, calculated and meaningful manner. This theme represents a significant facet of art history in which aspects such as strategies of perception and efficacy as well as frames of reference within art are explored.

By taking the liberty to appropriate pre-existing self-presentations of deceased, older and younger fellow artists, Marcus Neufanger has brought forth a cohesive tableau of faces, physical posture and quotations that offers a very interesting art history lesson: behind his seemingly simple, slightly playful pictures lurks reflection on a profound, even existential issue, one of central significance to the work of every artist. Namely: that of overcoming transience.

Marcus Neufanger, Fernando de Brito

Portrait of an Artists

January 21, 2017

 — 

February 25, 2017

Ferdando de Brito (*1956, lives in Hamburg) and Marcus Neufanger (*1964, lives in Schwäbisch Hall) conscientiously devote themselves to developing possible ways of portraying artistic personalities. They use their art to conjure a relationship to the portrayed, to their charisma, their impact and the essence of their work. Whereby the way the two artists approach this subject could hardly be more different. And it is this interesting contrast that the exhibition PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST is presenting at the Van der Grinten Gallery to start off the year 2017, opening on Friday, January 20th at 6 pm, to which we cordially invite you.

Marcus Neufanger—whose works we had introduced in 2014 for the first time in the solo exhibition PORTRAITS, BOOKS, VANITY PLATES as well as in the publication of the same name—presents 40 drawings in the current show that make up the block Titled/Untitled. These cover drawings are also derived from the source material of Neufanger’s extensive artbook library. Artist’s books and catalogues are, since the 1960s, meant to be understood as autonomous works and issued as print editions. To the way an artist is the author of his “work” typographically, aesthetically and as media, or even actually designs it him/herself, apprises us of his thinking, his ideas and his message. Neufanger rightly sees portraiture in this, but abstracts the object book to an image that is readable as a picture but no longer possible to read as a book. Everything else now plays out on the flat picture plane and leads back to the drawing as pure drawing.

Fernando de Brito studied at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg that, among other things, later included a 1982 assistantship to Kenneth Noland in New York. He has dedicated a portion of his diverse artworks to “seismographic” and at times large-scale ballpoint pen drawings that reveal an inner world where artists meet artists. His drawings betray a highly sensitized cumulation. The initially parallel lines seem to have themselves determined the moment of their impact, their own pulse, so spiritedly, so vibratingly do they yet follow an inner order across the paper, forming a finely woven structure that opens up or deepens the pictorial space. De Brito meets Samuel Beckett, Morton Feldman, Elias Canetti or Eva Strittmatter, and each of these portraits is like a cosmos made up of the sum of the facets of the personality that it depicts. Besides these primarily new works, several artist’s books by Fernando de Brito are also on show.

Marcus Neufanger, Fernando de Brito

Portrait of an Artists

January 21, 2017

 — 

February 25, 2017

Ferdando de Brito (*1956, lives in Hamburg) and Marcus Neufanger (*1964, lives in Schwäbisch Hall) conscientiously devote themselves to developing possible ways of portraying artistic personalities. They use their art to conjure a relationship to the portrayed, to their charisma, their impact and the essence of their work. Whereby the way the two artists approach this subject could hardly be more different. And it is this interesting contrast that the exhibition PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST is presenting at the Van der Grinten Gallery to start off the year 2017, opening on Friday, January 20th at 6 pm, to which we cordially invite you.

Marcus Neufanger—whose works we had introduced in 2014 for the first time in the solo exhibition PORTRAITS, BOOKS, VANITY PLATES as well as in the publication of the same name—presents 40 drawings in the current show that make up the block Titled/Untitled. These cover drawings are also derived from the source material of Neufanger’s extensive artbook library. Artist’s books and catalogues are, since the 1960s, meant to be understood as autonomous works and issued as print editions. To the way an artist is the author of his “work” typographically, aesthetically and as media, or even actually designs it him/herself, apprises us of his thinking, his ideas and his message. Neufanger rightly sees portraiture in this, but abstracts the object book to an image that is readable as a picture but no longer possible to read as a book. Everything else now plays out on the flat picture plane and leads back to the drawing as pure drawing.

Fernando de Brito studied at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg that, among other things, later included a 1982 assistantship to Kenneth Noland in New York. He has dedicated a portion of his diverse artworks to “seismographic” and at times large-scale ballpoint pen drawings that reveal an inner world where artists meet artists. His drawings betray a highly sensitized cumulation. The initially parallel lines seem to have themselves determined the moment of their impact, their own pulse, so spiritedly, so vibratingly do they yet follow an inner order across the paper, forming a finely woven structure that opens up or deepens the pictorial space. De Brito meets Samuel Beckett, Morton Feldman, Elias Canetti or Eva Strittmatter, and each of these portraits is like a cosmos made up of the sum of the facets of the personality that it depicts. Besides these primarily new works, several artist’s books by Fernando de Brito are also on show.

Marcus Neufanger

Books, Portraits & Vanity Plates

September 6, 2014

 — 

October 31, 2014

In his engagement with the phenomenon of artist personalities and their reception, Neufanger has skimmed off the cream from the sheer unlimited reservoir of his own library of art books. He deploys the books or other photographic material for the motifs of his work. His field is present-day art and his artistic motif is the portrayal of self-portrayal. The basis for his drawings is the photo portraits of artists who currently play a role in the art scene. Whereby the degree of self-dramatization, that is, how an artist lends his person a public image via the media, is the focus.  The drawings operate through their writ-large plainness such as the corresponding photos redone in contours that Neufanger supplements with an original comment by the artist. Picture and text enter into a well-deliberated bond, but at the same time each is effective on its own.

In his Book Covers and Vanity Plates he goes one step further. He reduces the presence of the artist to his mention on the title of a book or relevant exhibition catalogue. Marcus Neufanger carries typography and graphic design over onto canvas so that a handy and useful object like a book can unfold its stunning effect when magnified into an abstractly organized plane of fields and letters. It is amazing how a “picture” like a book cover can, by simple enlargement, take on a life of its own. However the pictures first attain full autonomy via their surface transformation in paint, i.e., style and pigment translate into a “genuine painting”. The Vanity Plates, that vary greatly in size, ultimately bear only the name of the artist. Epitaphs ordinarily mark the moment when the artist is posthumously accepted into the canon of art history. With Neufanger this kind of memorial plaque lacks dates. The plates are actually a paradox, since most artists whom he portrays as such, enjoy the best of health. In this ironic but trenchant way, the present and the future are locked together.

Marcus Neufanger’s love of, and occupation with, books of artists is on the same level that Hans Ulrich Obrist very aptly characterized in an interview with Franz Erhard Walther: Books are so important, partly because they travel to the most unlikely places. Much farther than exhibitions. I am also interested in the book as a medium because artists give so much time, passion and energy to them. They are just as important as very big installations.

Marcus Neufanger was born in 1964 and lives in Schwäbisch Hall. His works are represented, among other places, within well-known collections such as ZKM, BW Bank Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Würth Künzelsau, Kienzle Berlin and private German collections.

For the exhibition a German/English catalogue is being published by Stefan Schülke Fine Books, with an additional Collectors‘ Edition of 25 copies.

Marcus Neufanger

Books, Portraits & Vanity Plates

September 6, 2014

 — 

October 31, 2014

In his engagement with the phenomenon of artist personalities and their reception, Neufanger has skimmed off the cream from the sheer unlimited reservoir of his own library of art books. He deploys the books or other photographic material for the motifs of his work. His field is present-day art and his artistic motif is the portrayal of self-portrayal. The basis for his drawings is the photo portraits of artists who currently play a role in the art scene. Whereby the degree of self-dramatization, that is, how an artist lends his person a public image via the media, is the focus.  The drawings operate through their writ-large plainness such as the corresponding photos redone in contours that Neufanger supplements with an original comment by the artist. Picture and text enter into a well-deliberated bond, but at the same time each is effective on its own.

In his Book Covers and Vanity Plates he goes one step further. He reduces the presence of the artist to his mention on the title of a book or relevant exhibition catalogue. Marcus Neufanger carries typography and graphic design over onto canvas so that a handy and useful object like a book can unfold its stunning effect when magnified into an abstractly organized plane of fields and letters. It is amazing how a “picture” like a book cover can, by simple enlargement, take on a life of its own. However the pictures first attain full autonomy via their surface transformation in paint, i.e., style and pigment translate into a “genuine painting”. The Vanity Plates, that vary greatly in size, ultimately bear only the name of the artist. Epitaphs ordinarily mark the moment when the artist is posthumously accepted into the canon of art history. With Neufanger this kind of memorial plaque lacks dates. The plates are actually a paradox, since most artists whom he portrays as such, enjoy the best of health. In this ironic but trenchant way, the present and the future are locked together.

Marcus Neufanger’s love of, and occupation with, books of artists is on the same level that Hans Ulrich Obrist very aptly characterized in an interview with Franz Erhard Walther: Books are so important, partly because they travel to the most unlikely places. Much farther than exhibitions. I am also interested in the book as a medium because artists give so much time, passion and energy to them. They are just as important as very big installations.

Marcus Neufanger was born in 1964 and lives in Schwäbisch Hall. His works are represented, among other places, within well-known collections such as ZKM, BW Bank Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Würth Künzelsau, Kienzle Berlin and private German collections.

For the exhibition a German/English catalogue is being published by Stefan Schülke Fine Books, with an additional Collectors‘ Edition of 25 copies.

Marcus Neufanger

Aufforderung des Connaisseurs

Man meint, man müsste sie kennen. Und manchen erkennt man auch, andere wiederum nicht, je nach Wissensstand. Der starken Präsenz der Porträts von Marcus Neufanger kann man sich jedoch so oder so nicht entziehen. Zu fesselnd die Gesichter und Staturen, die hier Aufmerksamkeit heischen. Fragt man sich, woher diese Wirkung kommt, so führt dies unwillkürlich zu den Persönlichkeiten selbst. Marcus Neufanger zeigt Künstler, zu einem Gutteil charismatische Selbstdarsteller, die nicht selten performativ, mit bewusster Publikumsansprache arbeiteten oder arbeiten. Nicht von ungefähr scheint von daher ein hoher Anteil an Künstlern im  Happening und Fluxus der 1960/70er-Jahre verortet:  Emilio Prini, Nam June Paik, Ben Vautier, André Cadere, HA Schult, Jean Guillaume Ferrée, Walter Pichler, Wolf Vostell sowie nicht zuletzt Joseph Beuys, der mit Filzhut und blutig geschlagener Nase, die er sich bei seiner legendären Aktion „Kukei, akopee – Nein! …“ am 20. Juli 1964 im Auditorium Maximum der Technischen Hochschule Aachen während eines Fluxus-Festivalsholte, ikonengleich vor uns schwebt.

Wer mehr erfahren will über die Porträtierten wendet sich unweigerlich den Texten zu. Denn Marcus Neufangers Zeichnungen sind Text-Bild-Arbeiten, das heißt jedem Bildnis ist ein handgeschriebener Text in Blockschrift beigestellt. Wobei beigestellt nicht ganz richtig ist. Bild und Schrift als grafisches Element ergeben vielmehr eine verwobene Einheit, die immer anders ausfällt, anders gewichtet ist. Was der Betrachter in den Texten findet, variiert und ist damit ebenso individualisiert wie die Persönlichkeiten jede für sich ihre eigene Botschaft, ihr persönliches Statement zu transportieren scheint. Neben Sachinformationen wie Lebensdaten oder Kommentaren sind es vor allem Künstlerzitate, die den Dargestellten eine Stimme verleihen und die dargebotene Szene – denn die Porträts vereint allesamt ein aktionistischer Impuls – untermalen. Als Erläuterungen lesbar implizieren sie durch ihre Platzierung eine direkte Verbindung zwischen Text und Bild. Dient ihre Aussage meist affirmativ dem Bild, so ist dies nicht in allen Fällen so. Oder nicht sofort ersichtlich, wenn humorvoll falsche Fährten gelegt werden. Beispiel Nam June Paik, dessen ausschnitthaftes Porträt aus seiner Musik-Performance „Random Access Music“ stammt, in der der Besucher den Tonkopf mithilfe einer Penis-Attrappe bedienen konnte. Gerade dann aber wirken sie als produktive Irritation auf den Betrachter, der sich seiner eigenen Position umso bewusster wird in Anbetracht der Herausforderung zum Weiterdenken über das Bild hinaus. Marcus Neufanger kontrastiert hierin die spontane, eindringliche Wirkung der Bildnisse und stellt eine Form der Distanz her, die gleichermaßen für ihn als Produzenten gelten mag, der sich des Effekts seiner Bildnisse zweifelsohne bewusst ist, anhand der ausgewählten Kommentare jedoch eindeutig zur Reflexion einlädt.

Eine Distanz verbirgt sich im Übrigen auch in den Porträts, deren doppelter Boden darin besteht, dass ihr Vorbild ein bereits existentes Künstler(selbst)porträt ist, auf das Marcus Neufanger zurückgreift. Seiner Inszenierung liegt somit die Inszenierung des Porträts zugrunde, der wiederum das In-Szene-Setzen des Künstlers selbst zugrunde liegt. Die Kunst lebt von der Inszenierung, wäre ein schneller Schluss. Sie lebt von Haltung und Aussage wäre ein weiterer, der tiefer greift, und vielleicht eher trifft, worum es geht. Denn es geht ebenso um Bekenntnis wie um kritische Auseinandersetzung. Sicher lassen sich viele der Künstlerbildnisse als Hommagen deuten, aber nicht alle. So ist kaum anzunehmen, dass die Antwort Daniel Richters im Interview über „gute Ausstellungen“ zusammen genommen mit der dargestellten, durchaus sehr menschlichen Geste – die in diesem Fall ganz sicher ein Fremdporträt ist – nicht ironisch gemeint ist.

Doch auch wenn in den Bildern der „moderne homo soziologicus, ein Akteur, ein Schauspieler, gezwungen, in eine Vielzahl von Rollen zu schlüpfen“ (Klaus Honnef) anzutreten scheint, so zwingt Marcus Neufanger seine beredten Protagonisten in einen Moment des Innehaltens. Es ist die Zeichnung selbst, die diese Wirkung herstellt. Ihre Haptik ist dicht, die Farbflächen opak und klar gesetzt innerhalb eines bewusst reduzierten Spektrums. Sie drückt ebenso wie die Schrift einen so hohen Grad an Konzentration aus, das trotz der performativen Motive nichts flüchtig erscheint. Hinzu kommt die Stilisierung, die allzu Persönliches oder Zeitliches glättet und einen überzeitlichen Effekt schafft. Diese Kontrastierung des Motivs gegenüber seiner Darstellung trägt entscheidend zu dem gänzlich eigenen Charakter der Arbeit von Marcus Neufanger bei, der mittels seines intellektuellen wie sinnlichen Zeichensystems aus Bild und Text die Kunst auf einen Augenblick anhält und einen Raum für Denkprozesse schafft.

Sonja Klee

Marcus Neufanger

Aufforderung des Connaisseurs

Man meint, man müsste sie kennen. Und manchen erkennt man auch, andere wiederum nicht, je nach Wissensstand. Der starken Präsenz der Porträts von Marcus Neufanger kann man sich jedoch so oder so nicht entziehen. Zu fesselnd die Gesichter und Staturen, die hier Aufmerksamkeit heischen. Fragt man sich, woher diese Wirkung kommt, so führt dies unwillkürlich zu den Persönlichkeiten selbst. Marcus Neufanger zeigt Künstler, zu einem Gutteil charismatische Selbstdarsteller, die nicht selten performativ, mit bewusster Publikumsansprache arbeiteten oder arbeiten. Nicht von ungefähr scheint von daher ein hoher Anteil an Künstlern im  Happening und Fluxus der 1960/70er-Jahre verortet:  Emilio Prini, Nam June Paik, Ben Vautier, André Cadere, HA Schult, Jean Guillaume Ferrée, Walter Pichler, Wolf Vostell sowie nicht zuletzt Joseph Beuys, der mit Filzhut und blutig geschlagener Nase, die er sich bei seiner legendären Aktion „Kukei, akopee – Nein! …“ am 20. Juli 1964 im Auditorium Maximum der Technischen Hochschule Aachen während eines Fluxus-Festivalsholte, ikonengleich vor uns schwebt.

Wer mehr erfahren will über die Porträtierten wendet sich unweigerlich den Texten zu. Denn Marcus Neufangers Zeichnungen sind Text-Bild-Arbeiten, das heißt jedem Bildnis ist ein handgeschriebener Text in Blockschrift beigestellt. Wobei beigestellt nicht ganz richtig ist. Bild und Schrift als grafisches Element ergeben vielmehr eine verwobene Einheit, die immer anders ausfällt, anders gewichtet ist. Was der Betrachter in den Texten findet, variiert und ist damit ebenso individualisiert wie die Persönlichkeiten jede für sich ihre eigene Botschaft, ihr persönliches Statement zu transportieren scheint. Neben Sachinformationen wie Lebensdaten oder Kommentaren sind es vor allem Künstlerzitate, die den Dargestellten eine Stimme verleihen und die dargebotene Szene – denn die Porträts vereint allesamt ein aktionistischer Impuls – untermalen. Als Erläuterungen lesbar implizieren sie durch ihre Platzierung eine direkte Verbindung zwischen Text und Bild. Dient ihre Aussage meist affirmativ dem Bild, so ist dies nicht in allen Fällen so. Oder nicht sofort ersichtlich, wenn humorvoll falsche Fährten gelegt werden. Beispiel Nam June Paik, dessen ausschnitthaftes Porträt aus seiner Musik-Performance „Random Access Music“ stammt, in der der Besucher den Tonkopf mithilfe einer Penis-Attrappe bedienen konnte. Gerade dann aber wirken sie als produktive Irritation auf den Betrachter, der sich seiner eigenen Position umso bewusster wird in Anbetracht der Herausforderung zum Weiterdenken über das Bild hinaus. Marcus Neufanger kontrastiert hierin die spontane, eindringliche Wirkung der Bildnisse und stellt eine Form der Distanz her, die gleichermaßen für ihn als Produzenten gelten mag, der sich des Effekts seiner Bildnisse zweifelsohne bewusst ist, anhand der ausgewählten Kommentare jedoch eindeutig zur Reflexion einlädt.

Eine Distanz verbirgt sich im Übrigen auch in den Porträts, deren doppelter Boden darin besteht, dass ihr Vorbild ein bereits existentes Künstler(selbst)porträt ist, auf das Marcus Neufanger zurückgreift. Seiner Inszenierung liegt somit die Inszenierung des Porträts zugrunde, der wiederum das In-Szene-Setzen des Künstlers selbst zugrunde liegt. Die Kunst lebt von der Inszenierung, wäre ein schneller Schluss. Sie lebt von Haltung und Aussage wäre ein weiterer, der tiefer greift, und vielleicht eher trifft, worum es geht. Denn es geht ebenso um Bekenntnis wie um kritische Auseinandersetzung. Sicher lassen sich viele der Künstlerbildnisse als Hommagen deuten, aber nicht alle. So ist kaum anzunehmen, dass die Antwort Daniel Richters im Interview über „gute Ausstellungen“ zusammen genommen mit der dargestellten, durchaus sehr menschlichen Geste – die in diesem Fall ganz sicher ein Fremdporträt ist – nicht ironisch gemeint ist.

Doch auch wenn in den Bildern der „moderne homo soziologicus, ein Akteur, ein Schauspieler, gezwungen, in eine Vielzahl von Rollen zu schlüpfen“ (Klaus Honnef) anzutreten scheint, so zwingt Marcus Neufanger seine beredten Protagonisten in einen Moment des Innehaltens. Es ist die Zeichnung selbst, die diese Wirkung herstellt. Ihre Haptik ist dicht, die Farbflächen opak und klar gesetzt innerhalb eines bewusst reduzierten Spektrums. Sie drückt ebenso wie die Schrift einen so hohen Grad an Konzentration aus, das trotz der performativen Motive nichts flüchtig erscheint. Hinzu kommt die Stilisierung, die allzu Persönliches oder Zeitliches glättet und einen überzeitlichen Effekt schafft. Diese Kontrastierung des Motivs gegenüber seiner Darstellung trägt entscheidend zu dem gänzlich eigenen Charakter der Arbeit von Marcus Neufanger bei, der mittels seines intellektuellen wie sinnlichen Zeichensystems aus Bild und Text die Kunst auf einen Augenblick anhält und einen Raum für Denkprozesse schafft.

Sonja Klee

Mercedes-Benz Art Collection, Stuttgart / DE
ZKM – Zentrum für Kunst- und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe / DE
Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe / DE
Graphothek Stuttgart / DE
Grafische Sammlung Esslingen / DE
Hällisch Fränkisches Museum Schwäbisch Hall / DE
Sammlung Würth, Künzelsau / DE
Sammlung Bausparkasse, Schwäbisch Hall / DE
Sammlung BW Bank, Stuttgart / DE
Sammlung Kienzle, Berlin / DE
Sammlung Widauer, Innsbruck / AT