Although principally known for his extensive work in paint, German artist Werner Büttner has a veritable cache of collage work to his name, too. The pieces are witty and subversive, placing the everyday and the commonplace into unexpected environments to create ironic plates – a lacy red bra hung nonchalantly over the unseeing eyes of a horse, for example, or a larger-than-life fish head thrusting out of the ground in a forest otherwise populated only by trees.
The lighthearted compositions create a pointed alternative to the loaded wordplay which often underpins Büttner’s work in paint – an offshoot of the opinionated German artist’s rebellious nature, and his penchant for breaking social taboos with a biting, questioning nature. Born in Jena in 1954, the artist produced bold, large-scale paintings and murals alongside a number of essays, often merging the two media to produce new levels of irony and provocation.
This month, Black Dog Publishing releases the very first substantial overview of Büttners collage practice, entitled My Looting Eye – the loot, in this instance, being the wealth of alternative meaning the inventive artist uncovers in his daily life, and the publication itself a cohesive and often provocative trove of works. We’d argue there’s no better remedy to an early January morning than a dose of the surreal and the unexpected.
#AnOtherHappyMonday
Werner Büttner’s My Looting Eye is out on January 28, 2016, published by Black Dog Publishing in collaboration with Marlborough Contemporary London.
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