Fokus Figur: 30 Jahre Die Galerie / Focus Figure: 30 Years of Die Galerie.

(Bilingual catalog [G&E], hardcover, 144 pages. With shorts texts by Corneille, Klaus Zylla, Franz Hitzler, Volker Stelzmann, Eckhard Kremers, Sandra Brandels Crawford, Heiner Meyer, Joram Harel, Roberta Baj, Tony Swaanswijk, Hans Brockstedt, Daniel Boulakia, Jane Sung, Ingeborg Flagge, Daiga Upeniece, Volker Hauff, Jürgen Jeske, Marika de Feo and others.]

André Masson, Femme tenant un oiseau 
(1924, oil on canvas, 55.2 x 33 cm)

The exhibition Focus Figure: 30 Years of Die Galerie ran from 2 Sept. – 7 Nov. 2009 at Die Galerie, Frankfurt, and included the work of approx. 40 artists.

To quote the press release:

"When founded in 1979, the initial focus of DIE GALERIE was on printed works. Since then, DIE GALERIE has evolved into an internationally active art dealership of high-quality art of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. […] DIE GALERIE moved into its prestigious space in the Frankfurt Westend in 1995, and the change of location was accompanied by a change of activities. Since then, the gallery has concentrated on gallery work, presentations at international art fairs, and the communication between artists, collectors and museums. […] When it comes to the representation of the interests of his artists, Peter Femfert cooperates with galleries in (among other places) France, Italy and Spain, takes advantage of an international network of connections, supplies his exhibitions to prestigious institutions or uses his enthusiasm and persistence to instigate sensational exhibitions […]."

Pierre Alechinsky, L’Âge d’orange

(1970, acrylic on paper on canvas, 115 x 151 cm)

"The thematic centre that bonds all activities of DIE GALERIE is the presentation of the figure, the visual exploration of the topic of mankind in its most varied shapes and forms. Indeed, the identity of a gallery is defined much more by the art and character of 'its' artists than by the sum of its activities. In this way DIE GALERIE has developed a face, a distinctive physiognomy, which reflects the signs of its age with pride and a portion of humor."

Robert Combas, Le Guépard rayé

 (2007, acrylic on canvas, 210 x 205 cm)

"And exactly that will be obvious to see at the anniversary exhibition FOCUS FIGURE […]. All artists of DIE GALERIE are involved and will be present, either in person or represented by their art work. The exhibition takes you from the obsessed figures of André Masson to Max Ernst's alter ego Loplop; from Jean Dubuffet's 'raw' friends, Karel Appel's wind-twisted forms, Corneille's sensual women, Lucebert's gnomes, Rudolf Hausner's self-portraits, Valerio Adami's characters of the Old Testament and Emilio Tadini's fairytale figures to the contemporary representation of the figure: the emotive of Dieter Hacker, the vulnerable of Eckhard Kremers, the shrill of Heiner Meyer, the audacious of Klaus Zylla, the voiceless of Volker Stelzmann, the melancholic of Igor Mitoraj and the angularly chiseled of Dietrich Klinge."

All art images taken from the gallery's press release.