Execute Magazine

Artist a Day: Joseph Beuys 

Joseph Beuys  (1921-1986)

Beuys was a German artist and art theorist with a wide range of impressive credentials. He taught, performed, founded the art movement Fluxus and had an extensive list of illustrious works.

Bug der Argo

Joseph`s Works

abstract, Neo-Dada, 1951 - 1952

Flower Nymph

figurative, watercolor, paper,  15 x 10.8 cm, 1956

Joseph`s Works

His work is hard to describe but was mostly concerned with humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He also developed Happenings. One of the most important aspects of Beuys's art was his definition of art. At the artist's lectures, symposiums, and workshops he discussed many different subjects and encouraged open political debate.

Witches Spitting Fire

oil, pencil, paper, 20.7 x 29.7 cm,  1959

Joseph`s Works

King's Daughter Sees Iceland

collage, gouache, pencil, felt, paper, 114 x 98.5 cm, 1960

Joseph`s Works

These activities always featured an extensive dialogue with the audience around a wide range of topics such as society. Beuys died on January 23, 1986, in his hometown of Düsseldorf due to heart failure.

2 Sheep's Heads

oil, paper, 75.5 x 77.4 cm, 1961 - 1975

Joseph`s Works

Wooden Virgin

oil, paper, 18 x 23.7 cm, 1958

Joseph`s Works

“Every human being is an artist, a freedom being, called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions, thinking and structures that shape and inform our lives.” ― Joseph Beuys

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The Pack

Conceptual Art, assemblage, 1969

Joseph`s Works

Hearts of the Revolutionaries: Passage of the Planets of the Future

watercolor, cardboard, 29.5 x 49 cm, 1955

Joseph`s Works

Others continued to plant trees after Beuys's death, which indicates that the artist will continue to be present even after his death. Beuys left many questions unanswered. One of the few artists whose life and work continue to spark debate, he remains as mysterious as ever even after his death.

Halved Felt Cross with Dust Image "Magda"

collage, metal, dust, felt, nails, paper, wire, 108 x 68 cm, 1960 - 1965

Joseph`s Works

Terremoto

Conceptual Art, 349.9 x 490.2 cm, 1981

Joseph`s Works

I think the tree is an element of regeneration which in itself is a concept of time. ― Joseph Beuys