Helmut Middendorf at Eleni Koroneou Gallery

Artist: Helmut Middendorf

Exhibition title: Early Paintings, Films and Works on Paper, 1977 – 1988

Venue: Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens, Greece

Date: April 27 – July 15, 2023

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens

Eleni Koroneou Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition “Early Paintings, Films and Works on Paper, 1977 – 1988”, with paintings and works on paper by Helmut Middendorf along with a selection of Super8 films from the same era.

The paintings and the works on paper from the late 1970s and 1980s, are all inspired by Middendorf’s direct environment, with a focus on the human figure, the music scene, the nightlife, and the streets of Kreuzberg district of Berlin called SO 36, where the artist lived and worked at the time. His paintings from this period are painted spontaneously and are characterized by their large scale and luminous, loud, aggressive and richly contrasting coloration with broad, gestural brushstrokes. The emphasis was on intensity. Intensive personal experience was supposed to be transformed into intensive painting.

Parallel to the show and for the first time in Athens, will be on view Middendorf’s early Super-8 films, all made in his SO 36 studio and frequently feature the artist himself. Most of these early films are based on brief funny stories; they are conceptual and reflect upon art, television, Berlin, his apartment, literature and politics. The artist became very interested in experimental film in the beginning of the 70s.

This exhibition coincides with Middendorf’s new book “Berlin SO 36 Revisited”, published by Kerber Verlag. The publication contains a comprehensive selection of paintings and works on paper as well as previously unknown photographs from the archive of the artist, many of which are being published for the first time or are being shown in a new context. It also presents the documentation of his exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg, Hall Art Foundation that took place in 2022 under the same title.

Helmut Middendorf was born in 1953 in Dinklage, Germany. He lives and works in Berlin and Athens. In the 80s, he was part of the famous group “Neue Wilde” in Berlin. His work has been shown internationally in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including participations in: “Berlin SO36 Revisted”, Hall Art Foundation, Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg (2022); “The 80s. Art of the Eighties”, Albertina Modern, Wien (2021); Galerie Sophie Scheidecker, Paris (2020); “Before the fall of the wall”, ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, Aarhus (2019); “Wilderness”, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2018); “The Invention of the Neue Wilde”, Ludwig Forum, Aachen (2018); “The Flâneur”, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn (2018); “Innen_Welten”, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel (2018); “Colorful. farbenfroh – Im Fokus: Dorothy Fratt”, Museum Art.Plus, Donaueschingen (2018); “Neue Wilde”, Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands (2016), Städel Museum, Frankfurt (2015); “Geniale Dilletanten”, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg (2016), Haus der Kunst, Munich (2015); “Kunst in Berlin 1945 bis Heute”, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2013); “Chambres d’ Amis – Collectiepresentatie”, S.M.A.K., Gent, Belgium (2012); “Schlachtpunk Malerei der 80er Jahre”, Kunsthalle Darmstadt, Germany (2012); “The Last Grand Tour”, Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens (2011); “40 Jahre Gegenwart” Deutsche Bank – Collection, Luxembourg (2010); “Neoexpressionistic paintings from Berlin: Gift of Susan and Martin Sanders, New York”, Museum of Modern Art Tel Aviv, Israel (2010).

Middendorf’s works are included in over 30 Museum Collections worldwide, as Guggenheim Museum, New York; ARoS Museum, Aarhus, Denmark; Musée Centre Pompidou, Paris; Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt; SMAK, Museum voor Hedendagse Kunst, Gent, Belgium and in private collections.

Helmut Middendorf, Early Paintings, Films and Works on Paper, 1977 – 1988, 2023, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens

Helmut Middendorf, SO 36 (Hocker), 1979 Dispersion and crayon on paper 88 x 62 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Raucher / Smoker, 1979, Dispersion on paper, 100 x 72 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Tänzer 2 / Dancers 2, 1979 Aquarelle and pencil on paper, 58,5 x 84 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Strand / Beach, 1981 Dispersion on paper 62 x 88 cm

Helmut Middendorf, G-Eingeborene / Natives of the big city, 1979 Dispersion on paper, 62 x 88 cm

Helmut Middendorf, R. Fetting, Mauer / Berlin wall, 1979 Dispersion and charcoal on paper 58,5 x 84 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Tanz / Dance, SO36, 1979, Dispersion, crayon on paper 62 x 88 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Häuser, Backyard, 1980 Dispersion on paper, 62 x 88 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Dampf, Gully, 1980 Dispersion on paper 62 x 88 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Lower east side,1980 Acrylic on paper, 27,8 x 35,5 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Gedankenschleife, 1980 Acrylic and pencil on paper 29,7 x 41,8 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Sänger / Singer, 1981 Watercolor on paper 27,8 x 35,5 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Gorilla und Autoreifen, 1980 Watercolor and pencil on paper 29,5 x 39,7 cm

Helmut Middendorf, O.T. (Eingeborene) / Untitled (Natives of the big city), 1979, Watercolor and pencil on paper, 29.4 x 41 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Versuch den Regenbogen am Schwanz zu fassen, 1980, Watercolor and pastel on paper, 29.5 x 41.8 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Eingeborene / Natives of the big city, 1979 Dispersion on muslin, 130 x 160 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Gitarren (Rot-ocker), 1978, Dispersion on muslin, 138 x 120 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Grossstadteingeborene/ Natives of the big city), 1982, Acrylic on canvas, 230 x 190 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Congas-gelb/blau, 1979 Dispersion on muslin 160 x 130 cm

Helmut Middendorf, Singer (Maniac), 1980 Dispersion on muslin 162 x 130 cm