Endy Hupperich in "Kunst am Isartor"
"Finger an die Ecke" / Mix of cultures in a globalised flood of imagesMunich, 10 November 2010 – For one year now the inhabitants of Munich have had the chance to admire the works of regional contemporary artists in the immediate vicinity of the Isartor. In the office premises of the WTS Group, one of the major German tax consulting firms, the fifth exhibition will now be opened. In "Finger an die Ecke" (Finger at the Corner) the Munich artist Endy Hupperich gives an overview of his drawings and paintings created in recent years and translates images and messages from graphic design and advertising into painting. From 11 November 2010 to 14 January 2011 the works of the Munich-based artist will be on display. ("Kunst am Isartor", Thomas-Wimmer-Ring 1, Mon-Thu 3-7 pm).
Endy Hupperich confronts abstract sometimes impasto, sometimes two-dimensional paintings with contrasting figures, paroles and icons of a world consumable always and at any time. In this context he quotes scenes of our everyday lifes and combines them with content from the Internet, advertising and the daily press. This is not an act of mere collecting and collage making, though, as Endy Hupperich cuts up, destroys, paints over and at the same time invents and interprets a new form of painting. His subjects are not easy to identify, as he sometimes seems to take in, "absorb" everything around him, everyday occurrences as well as absurd peripheral phenomena. He plays with the viewer's eye and leads us into his world full of advertising stereotypes of different times. Here he "crosses out" connections beyond recognition so that the mere striking form remains: a slightly faded Elvis waving his hat is riding on a white elephant while black stars are set in motion and swallows are about to fly away (Speedweeler, 2006).
Hupperich, all painter, creates large surfaces and shapes that are again difficult to identify. The painter's world of Endy Hupperich is as hard to grasp as the trivial insanity of our everyday life is to explain.
The "Finger an die Ecke" (Finger at the Corner) exhibition of "Kunst am Isartor" (Art at the Isartor) shows works created recently as well as very current works of art. Hupperich's bandwidth is enormous, not only in content but also as far as the choice of different materials is concerned: cut outs and copies, pencil, Indian ink and glossy paint on paper in addition to oil paint on wood and canvas.
Finds of the cultural genre-mix include cartoon characters, actors, advertising stars and stereotypes. A perfect image of housewifeliness in the look of the 50s meets Heidi and Peter: a kitschy pair of children almost completely painted over with graffiti while "Jesus loves me" is emblazoned on the canvas in large letters. Floods of images of a globalised world, between yesterday and today, in which almost everything seems to exist or lack? What is interesting is the ceaseless linking of references, souvenirs and images which Hupperich brings to light. With a lot of humour, of course, he addresses the permanent overlapping of visual information, trivia and associations.
Like a wanderer between formerly strongly differing cultural worlds, the painter from Munich reveals visual influences from Europe but also from the USA and Mexico, which in the age of globalisation are becoming increasingly similar and losing their original character.
Endy Hupperich was born in Kaufbeuren and now lives and works in Munich and Mexico City. From 1990 to 1997 he studied painting at the Academy of Visual Arts with Professor Helmut Sturm and Professor Robin Page (master-class student of Helmut Sturm). Since the late 90s he has been exhibiting in Munich, for instance in the art galleries Klaus Lea, Klüser 2 and Marie-Jose van de Loo. Besides his own artistic activities Endy Hupperich has always put a strong emphasis on teaching and academic debate of painting as well. From 2002 to 2004 he took on a DAAD funded position as visiting professor for painting and drawing at the „Escuela Nacional de las Artes La Esmeralda“ in Mexico City. This period of time was crucial both for the professional and personal development of the Munich-based painter and is still visible today in the subjects and graphic design of his works. Since 2006 he has held a teaching position for drawing and design at the University of Applied Science in Augsburg, in 2007 he became a lecturer for painting at the Bad Reichenhall Academy of Art. In 2008 Endy Hupperich returned to the site of his initial artistic training and has been working at the Academy of Visual Arts in Munich as assistant to Professor Markus Oehlen. Numerous exhibitions in galleries and museums both at home and abroad show paintings, drawings and graphics by Endy Hupperich. His works are represented in the Grafische Sammlung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung as well as in collections of Telekom, BMW, Hypo-Vereinsbank and many more.
