(Grodnau 1925–2013 Moncarapacho, Portugal)
“Zerreissprobe” (van Gogh series), monogrammed, dated M 84 11.5 as well as titled on the lower edge, oil on canvas, 140 x 160 cm, on stretcher

Exhibited:
Volksbühne Berlin 2015/Projekt “Van Gogh revisited”,
Paul McCarthy & Theo Altenberg

Provenance:
Private Collection, Germany

For Otto Muehl, 1984 is shaped by his work on new forms of action film. The project to make a feature film about the (un)real emotional life of Vincent van Gogh marked the start of a phase in which painting played a key role in both the script and real life. In the film, Muehl paints the images of the tragic hero of the history of painting (April – August 1984). In parallel to the film, “Vincent” creates a “van Gogh series”, once again picking up the taboo topics referenced in the images of the “12 Aktionen” (“12 Actions”, 1970/71). What can be painted when the events shown in the image exceed what can be conceivably imagined? When the traumatic stories of the depths of human existence make an appearance on the sauntering, sun-drenched, messianically charged canvases of St Vincent? The images of the van Gogh series are currently to be found in various private collections across Europe and the USA. The Volksbühne Berlin is displaying nine key works from this cycle...
Text for the aforementioned exhibition