Among the most important European artists of the twentieth century, Joseph Beuys was known for performances and sculptural installations that explored myth, politics and man’s relationship to the natural world. He saw creativity as central to human existence, and his art was rooted in processes of change and transformation. His sculptures were often based on found objects which he invested with symbolic associations derived from science, anthropology and his own life.

The Hunterian’s collections offered a rich context to Beuys' work given that his substantial and complex output bridged art and science, weaving together themes including archaeology, geology, anthropology zoology, myth, history, intuition, medicine, energy and communication. This exhibition at the Hunterian Art Gallery included examples of the artist’s works on paper together with a small selection of additional works, notably his ‘vitrines’, including the legendary Fat Chair, and an iconic portrait of Beuys by Andy Warhol.

This ARTIST ROOMS exhibition was staged as a collaborative venture between the Hunterian and the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art (GI).

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