R. B. Kitaj
Hollywood, wie es wirklich ist, 1969
Seven colour screenprint, photo screenprint.
In 1962 Kitaj was introduced to the commercial …
Among the most significant post-war painters whose work and writings helped to define the School of London, R.B. Kitaj produced complex, boldly expressive compositions dense with references to art, literature, and, most significantly, Judaism. As he explained: “The Jewish question, in its infinity, is the central drama and romance of my life and art.” Drawing enduring inspiration from the works of Paul Cézanne, one of his favorite artists, as well as intellectuals like Hannah Arendt and Walter Benjamin, Kitaj approached art-making with a combination of formal and conceptual rigor. His ambitious paintings and prints are precisely composed and resolutely, though loosely, figurative. Ranging from deeply personal self-portraits and vignettes from his own life to nuanced explorations of history, politics, and ideas, all of his works convey his lust for expression and his passion for intellection.
Seven colour screenprint, photo screenprint.
In 1962 Kitaj was introduced to the commercial screenprinter Chris Prater, with whom he would produce his finest body of prints. A self-confessed bibliophile, books frequently provided the impetus for Kitaj’s work, their torn covers appearing in early collaged prints …
Among the most significant post-war painters whose work and writings helped to define the School of London, R.B. Kitaj produced complex, boldly expressive compositions dense with references to art, literature, and, most significantly, Judaism. As he explained: “The Jewish question, in its infinity, is the central drama and romance of my life and art.” Drawing enduring inspiration from the works of Paul Cézanne, one of his favorite artists, as well as intellectuals like Hannah Arendt and Walter Benjamin, Kitaj approached art-making with a combination of formal and conceptual rigor. His ambitious paintings and prints are precisely composed and resolutely, though loosely, figurative. Ranging from deeply personal self-portraits and vignettes from his own life to nuanced explorations of history, politics, and ideas, all of his works convey his lust for expression and his passion for intellection.
