Galerie Witteveen – Keizersgracht 538 – 1017 EL Amsterdam – tel +31 (0)20 62 39 684
Milan Kunc – THE ART OF KITSCH (Catalogue ’80 + 25 = 2005, februar 2006)
A classic Roman sculpture stands naked with his back to the viewer. His right hand is holding open a red curtain. The suggestion of a stage. His right hand, fingers spread, is on his back. He is wearing a white T-shirt with the text ”I love Italy” on it in red and green. The sculpture is surrounded by a forest of green leaves.
Kunc produced this work in 1990. Primarily it is an apt characterisation of Italy; a country that combines ancient, rich and tasteful culture with a kitsch present-day in which the media will do anything to effectively deny that past. ‘I love Italy’ is nevertheless also characteristic of the way in which Milan Kunc works.
Kunc (1944) is Czech by origin, but has lived and worked in Germany for a large part of his life. He paints figuratively, but that is possibly the only ordinary thing about his work. Every canvas, every photo-collage and every ceramic object is full of references. At the start of his career, when there was still a clear difference between East and West, these often refer to capitalism or communism. A well-known work from this time is ‘Pravda Coca Cola’, the front page of the official Russian newspaper ‘printed’ with the famous American logo, the initial letters of which have been replaced by the hammer and sickle sign. Thereafter they relate more to a consumer society that is nurtured and incited by the mass media. The intended engagement is shrouded in a striking form; Kunc not only uses vivid colours, but also cartoon-like, pop art type images. This exaggeration takes the works to the edge of good taste, to the border between art and kitsch. A conscious choice. For example a painting from 1988 shows the renowned Egyptian sphinx in the form of a recumbent, voluptuous woman wearing high-heels, a red cocktail frock, and holding a lighted cigarette, with two pillars in the background, one bearing a TV set and the other a telephone. This tasteless absurdism, this juxtapositioning of contradictions, that owe much to cheap sensationalism, ensure that the viewer cannot avoid the message. Kitsch is after all a universal language. Humour also plays a significant role in this process, frequently revealing a hilarious streak, especially in relation to interpersonal relationships. It is almost impossible to conceive that at the Düsseldorf academy Milan Kunc was a student of Joseph Beuys. It is hard to imagine a stronger contrast.
Together with Peter Angermann and Jan Knap, Milan Kunc founded the ‘Gruppe Normal’ in 1979. Their aim was to paint in a way that got the message across. This idea led them to produce murals, for example, in various large cities – Paris, Berlin, New York – with living in a metropolis as their subject matter. Although the group only existed for four years, the members have largely remained faithful to their principle.
(c) Rob Perrée -0-
”In the future, new art will have to be so beautiful, it makes you cry.” Milan Kunc, 1989
Selected solo-exhibitions :
1975 Bilder, praxis Dr. Bielichy, Düsseldorf 1979 Normale Welt, Harlekin Art Gallery, Wiesbaden 1980 Schilderijen, Galerie ‘t Venster, Rotterdam. 1982 Art Normal, Ulrike Kantor Gallery, Los Angelos.- Bilder und Zeichnungen, Galerie Swart, Amsterdam 1984 Neue Ikonen, Kunstverein Rhienlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf – Nieuwe Ikonen, Groninger Museum, Groningen. 1985 Neue Ikonen, Monika Sprüth Galerie, Köln – Romantic Landscapes, Pat Hearn Gallery, New York. 1987 Galerie Swart, Amsterdam 1988 Galleria La Maquina Española, Madrid – New Paintings, Robert Miller Gallery, New York 1989 Photocollages, Robert MIller Gallery, New York – Paintings & Drawings, Edward Totah Gallery, Londen 1990 Galleria Toselli, Milaan 1991 Fotopop, Tröster & Schötler Galerie, Frankfurt 1992 Galeria Patricia Asbaeck, Copenhagen – Letohrádek Belvedér, Praag 1993 Malmö Kunsthal, Malmö 1994 Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe – Kunsthal, Rotterdam 1995 Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento 1996 Galerie Václava Spály, Praag 1998 Keramiek, Museum het Princessenhof, Leeuwarden – Studio d’Arte Cannaviello, Milaan – Dibuixos, pintures, escultures, Sio Galerie, Barcelona 1999 Link Galerie, Den Haag 2000 Galleria Sperone, Rome 2001 Museo di Stato San Marino, Republica di San Marino – Ceramic, Associazione Culturale Betta Frigieri, Sassuolo 2002 Pastels and drawings, Galleria del Tasso Arte Contemporanea, Bergamo 2003 Embarrassing Realism, L’Ariete Arte Contemporanea, Bologna – Galeria Ariette, Bologna 2004 Galleria Giampiero Biasutti, Turijn 2005 The drawings collection, Galleria Santa Marta, Milaan 2006 Obrazy a kresby, Galerie Ceasar, Olomouc – Schilderijen, Tekeningen & Sculpturen, Galerie Witteveen, Amsterdam.
