IMMENDORFF, JÖRG
1945 Bleckede/Elbe–2007 Duesseldorf

Title: Der Wächter.
Date: 1989.
Technique: ronze, green-brown patinated.
Measurement: 215 x 68 x 66 cm.
Notation: Numbered, signed and dated verso on the plinth: 1/6 Immendorff 89.
Foundry mark: Next to this foundry mark KAYSER DÜSSELDORF. Ex. 1/6.



Provenance:
- - Galerie Rackey, Bad Honnef

- Corporate Collection Germany (acquired from previous owner in 2008)


Literature:
- Galerie Rackey (ed.): Jörg Immendorff – 24 Bronzen, Bad Honnef 2012, cat. no. 19, ill.



- Monumental sculpture created in the year of German reunification

- Refers to the East-West divide and the fragile desire for freedom

- Despite a raw and expressive style, Immendorff manages to imbue the „Wächter“ with grace and dignity

- An extension of his political discourse into his sculptural work



Provocation and Reflection

Jörg Immendorff ranks among the most important German artists of the postwar period. He became widely known for politically charged works that engage intensively with German history, the division of Germany, and the role of the artist within society. Immendorff is closely associated with the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he studied under, among others, Joseph Beuys and later became a professor himself. From Beuys, he adopted the conviction that art should possess social agency and bear political responsibility. To this day, numerous renowned museums around the world have honored his work through exhibitions.



Sculpture in Immendorff’s Oeuvre

Although Immendorff first achieved prominence as a painter—particularly through his celebrated Café Deutschland series (1978–1982)—he later developed a distinctive sculptural language through which he expanded his political discourse.

Der Wächter (The Guardian), with its disproportionately elongated limbs, stands upright, almost monumental, while simultaneously conveying a certain fragility. The figure is not depicted in motion but instead remains vigilant and attentive. The arms lie tightly against the body, appearing almost fixed in place and therefore charged with tension. They are rendered in a reduced manner, nearly truncated. The head is roughly modeled, with eyes, nose, and mouth merely sketched in. As a result, the sculpture becomes less an individual portrait than a symbolic figure.



The Struggle for Expression

Materiality plays a central role in the present work. The bronze surface and its patina endow the sculpture with its singular effect, evoking associations with ancient statuary. Immendorff combines this historical tradition with a modern, expressive formal language.

Traces of the sculptural process remain visible. The artist consciously rejects polished perfection; instead, the form appears powerfully modeled, almost raw. This deliberate sense of incompletion is characteristic of Immendorff’s style and points toward the process of creation itself—to the struggle for expression.

In this way, the sculpture appears at once archaic and expressive, allowing the artist to bring past and present into a compelling dialogue.



Der Wächter as a Symbol of a Time of Upheaval

Der Wächter does not represent a specific individual but rather an attitude: an awareness of responsibility—to observe, to remember, and to respond. Particularly in the context of its year of creation, 1989—the year of the fall of the Berlin Wall—the work may be understood as a reflection on political transformation, surveillance, control, and the desire for freedom.

The sculpture thus embodies central themes of Immendorff’s artistic practice. It addresses the role of the individual within social structures, the tension between freedom and limitation, and the question of responsibility. In doing so, the sculpture challenges the viewer to take a position—whether as observer or participant



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#Jörg Immendorff #Neo-Expressionism #Neue Wilde #New History Painting #Germany #Post-War Art #1980s #Sculpture #Scultpures.



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