At first glance, the paintings of Matthias Dornfeld might strike us as naïve or even primitive. However, his still lifes, flower and animal depictions, and abstracted portraits occur in a compelling discourse with the avant-garde of European art history. Yet the works are equally accessible without that background, namely with their playful and provocative gestures, which tend to push the depictions to the brink of possibilities. After a comprehensive retrospective in the Villa Merkel Esslingen, this book documents the show and includes texts by Friedrich Meschede, Daniela Stöppel, and Christian Gögger. The in-depth essays illuminate Dornfeld's oeuvre and iconography and furthermore discuss the unconventional hanging of the show as well as its reception.

Autorentext

Daniela Stö ppel is the program coordinator of the Master's degree program in Art History at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Friedrich Meschede (born October 5, 1955 in Lippstadt) is a German art historian and curator of contemporary art. Christian Gö gger was born in Munich and has worked in the art world for many years, including five years as a curator for the Kunstverein KISS.