The seeming banality of so much of the material Beuys incorporated into his multiples was at once a response to Pop Art, a critique of modern Western consumption (he was for a time put under the rubric “Capitalist Realism” along with Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, et. al.), and a poetic elevation of the insignificant—a search for the marvelous on the kitchen table. The gross familiarity of the materials and objects that constitute Joseph Beuys’ multiples is not simply part of their power, but, magically, their most exotic feature. The transformation of near-nothing into a galaxy of potential—that is alchemical.

– Excerpt from the essay by Peter Frank

CMay Gallery is pleased to present Joseph Beuys: An Exhibition, a showcase of works by one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

Joseph Beuys: An Exhibition features a diverse group of original works created from 1968 to 1986, including works on paper, multiples, mixed media, and sculptures. It will run from January 27 to March 17, 2017 with the opening reception held on Friday January 27, 2017 from 5:00 to 9:30 pm.

Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) studied natural sciences before the war, but upon return to his hometown in 1945, he decided to continue his studies in art. Beuys enrolled in the Monumental Sculpture program at Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts the following year where he later studied under Ewald Mataré.

Beuys remains a pioneering figure in contemporary performance art. He is perhaps best known as a leading figure of the avant-garde FLUXUS movement, which brought together artists of all disciplines from around the world to contest the authority and elitism of the art world by way of radical experimentation. Beuys used found objects that he referred to as "very basic to life and not associated with art" to create works that he labeled as 'vehicles' for transformation towards a better future or as he called it a social sculpture. He was an artist, a teacher, an activist, the co-founder of the Free International University and the German Green Party. Joseph Beuys: An Exhibition presents the artist’s career within the framework of his own philosophy.

This exhibition has been made possible through collaboration with Galerie Thomas Modern in Munich, Germany.