Norbert Tadeusz

Norbert Tadeusz is one of the most important representatives of figurative painting in Germany in the period after 1945. In the 1960s, his new approach to figurative painting directly opposed the practice of Gerhard Hoehme and Joseph Beuys at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art, and had a significant influence on the “New Figuration” of the 1980s. The shadow is one of the most important artistic themes in his work and repeatedly plays a role in the nude paintings, interiors or the “Cavalli” works as well as in typical “Tadeusz scenes”. The catalogue focuses on three thematic areas that cover his entire art practice: the harsh shadows of architectonic elements that provide a graphic structure for the figure scenes; the amorphous silhouettes of figures linked to mythical beings; and the shadow of the artist, who is present in the paintings as observer and creator.