Dresdner Frauen-Karla 1990

Georg Baselitz made this sculpture, Dresdner Frauen-Karla, by carving into wood, then painting it a saturated yellow. I imagine him attacking the wood, maybe with a chainsaw, or maybe a chisel. The surface is rough, faceted, a network of small cuts, which make up the planes of the face. I can imagine Baselitz thinking about the history of German Expressionist woodcuts, but blowing it up to a monumental scale. You feel the force of the artist, his physical engagement with the material. Maybe it's about the weight of history, the burden of representation. The yellow paint is kind of nuts. It almost hides the wood grain, yet it emphasizes the aggressive marks. I feel like Baselitz is always in conversation with the past, wrestling with tradition while pushing the boundaries of his own practice. Like he's saying, "Yeah, I know where I come from, but I'm gonna do it my way." And, in the process, opening up space for us to see and feel things anew.