Untitled 1958

This untitled work was made by Karl Otto Götz, though it's difficult to date it exactly. The all-over composition and dynamic brushstrokes recall the work of Abstract Expressionists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, yet Götz was working in Germany, a country that had a very different relationship to the legacy of modernism. After the Second World War, abstraction offered German artists a way to make a fresh start, unburdened by the baggage of recent history. Götz taught at the Düsseldorf Academy, one of the most important art schools in Germany, and he played a key role in introducing abstract art to a new generation. When we look at a work like this, it is tempting to think about the artist’s individual emotions, but it is important to remember that even the most seemingly personal gestures are shaped by social and institutional forces. By looking at the history of art schools, galleries, and museums, we can begin to understand the complex web of influences that shaped the art of this time.