Jörg Immendorff was born in Bleckede in 1945. Professionally, the artist started not as a painter but as a schoolteacher. During this time (the 1960s), he began painting landscapes alongside Teo Otto. Shortly afterwards, he enrolled at the Fine Arts Academy of Düsseldorf (1963-1964), where he studied under Joseph Beuys, among others. In contact with seminal figures of the German artistic scene, Immendorff rapidly aspired to fame by proposing something new and making his mark on the art scene. This mark, in addition to his artistic contributions, would also be achieved through teaching (like Immendorff, returning to his earlier career) in Düsseldorf, Stockholm, Cologne and Frankfurt.
To serve his ambitions, Immendorf created the ‘LIDL’ movement, an initiative that encompassed a plethora of activities such as the LIDL academy, the LIDL space, LIDL sport and LIDL theatre. The variety of different activities sought to facilitate a societal transformation. This political appetite manifested itself in the 1970s through the artist’s adhesion to Maoism and later to environmentalism, his opposition to the Vietnam War and the resulting militant turn in his work.
Around that time, his artistic production refocused on Germany and its complicated recent history which had resulted in divisions. Naht (to weld or Stich in German) became a central theme from then on. Obsessed by German reunification, he founded the Alliance d’action RFA-RDA (FRG-GDR Action Alliance) with the East German painter A. R. Penck.
In the 1980s, his art took on a more symbolic and allegoric nature as he, in typical post-modern fashion, revisited the grand developments of 20th century art.
Although primarily a painter, Immendorff also produced quite a few sculptures. When he opened the bar La Paloma in Hamburg in 1984, he installed a monumental bronze statue dedicated to Hans Albers. The bar was also decorated with works from esteemed peers such as Joseph Beuys, A. R. Penck, Markus Lüpertz, Georg Baselitz and Julian Schnabel. One of Immendorff’s most noticeable sculptures is the 25-metre-high piece in iron representing an oak trunk.
Ironic subversion has always been present since the inception of Immendorff’s body of work. What is remarkable is that it shines through even in more conventional practices and commissions. When he painted his good friend, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s portrait, the politician’s severe expression was counterbalanced by the presence of little monkeys, a staple of Immendorff’s bestiaries, a highly debated choice when the official portrait was revealed in 2007. One year earlier, the artist had already used the motif of monkeys in his illustrations for a special edition of the Bible. In addition to these specific examples, the artist made the headlines throughout the 2000s for his regular – and public – use of prostitutes and cocaine.
Lou Gehrig’s disease (a neuromuscular neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of the motor neurons that control the voluntary muscles) rendered the latter years of Immendorff’s life challenging. Incapable of painting, he delegated procedural duties to his assistants after creating preliminary compositions on a computer.
He passed away in 2007 at the age of 62. A posthumous homage novel entitled Daring attempt to stick in the air was published by his friend Tilman Spengler in 2015.
