{"id":11664,"date":"2025-09-27T16:44:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T08:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ginhuanggallery.com\/wolfgang-betke"},"modified":"2025-09-30T01:12:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:12:43","slug":"wolfgang-betke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ginhuanggallery.com\/en\/wolfgang-betke","title":{"rendered":"Wolfgang Betke"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Wolfgang Betke<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

b.1958 Deutschland<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Wolfgang Betke (b. 1958, D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany) is a significant contemporary German artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, and installation. At the core of his work lies the concept of \u201cBody Automatism,\u201d an approach rooted in Surrealist automatic writing, where creation emerges from physical intuition rather than rational control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with oil, acrylic, ink, charcoal, and spray paint on canvas, wood, or aluminum, Betke layers and removes pigments to build time-laden surfaces that act as \u201carchaeologies of the self.\u201d Each stratum embodies lived experience, making his paintings less objects of confrontation and more companions in dialogue.
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His works oscillate between abstraction and suggestion\u2014hinting at landscapes, figures, or symbols without fixing meaning. Instead, they invite viewers to develop their own associations, emphasizing multiplicity and openness. Betke reconciles historically conflicting art languages, uniting heterogeneous elements into a fragile yet harmonious balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exhibited widely in Germany and across Europe, Betke\u2019s art increasingly resonates in Asia. His practice is not about linear storytelling but about embodying life itself\u2014surrendering to the course of things, where the artist becomes part of nature and creation flows in a lucid, trance-like state. This fusion of body, spirit, and process defines his unique contribution to contemporary art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

read more<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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My paintings are time safes for me. Each layer of paint stands for a specific period of life time and contains my life energy. I paint in many layers, using oil colors, acrylic, ink, charcoal, and spray paint. I like to experiment with different liquids to trigger chemical processes in the materials, which generate wonderful surfaces and surprise me. I work on aluminium, canvas, or wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me my paintings are not objects standing opposite me, but rather friends\u2014parts of a communicative fabric in which there is no confrontation, only a living togetherness. That is why I do not impose my ideas onto the painting like a demiurge; instead, meanings emerge by themselves in dialogue with the work over the course of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The body is our medium of being in the world. It is not split into head and belly, reason and emotion, but is a holistic organism that materially enables all human functions. The emergence of a painting is a bodily process rather than a rational act of thought. A sudden pain in my shoulder, for instance, might give the painting its decisive turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bodily genesis of my paintings and sculptures is central. I call my working process \u201cbody automatism,\u201d in the tradition of Surrealism and \u00e9criture automatique<\/em>. I begin each work in a state of mental emptiness, engaging in a free and joyful play with the material. That means I start every painting from zero, without a plan. During the process, more and more associations and ideas appear, transforming automatism into a guided practice. Mental openness is the basis for the richest abundance of meanings. This includes the intense experience of color as much as the most complex streams of thought, all triggered by the bodily encounter with the painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I encourage viewers to approach the painting freely and without preconceptions, allowing for a personal encounter. There is no single true way to understand a painting. Over time, everyone develops their own associations and thoughts while looking\u2014none of which can ever be wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meaning of my work lies less in storytelling than in the way I bring the elements of my paintings together. It is about an attitude toward phenomena that radiates from a painting. In my practice, countless art-historical techniques and painterly approaches are united\u2014ones that, in the 20th century, still contradicted one another, when styles in the West were fighting and excluding each other. I bring them together as equal means, into a peaceful coexistence. My paintings unite the most heterogeneous elements in a precarious balance\u2014a threatened harmony of fragments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to recognizable motifs in my paintings, I usually only suggest them rather than fully working them out. I prefer allusion to the illustrative clarity of figuration. I am interested in generating the greatest possible potentiality. Thus, in my works we may, in one moment, perceive a mountain with trees suggested, and in the next moment, at the very same spot, part of a face\u2014or perhaps simply a captivating arrangement of color without any representational reference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the painting process, it sometimes happens that the paint becomes too thick on the surface and the painting can no longer breathe. Then I reopen the layers by wiping them away or using sanding machines, letting the work breathe again. This also takes me back into the time layers of the painting, as each layer stands for a particular period of life. In this way, I become an archaeologist of myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The intense bodily presence of my works is essential to me. My paintings are bodies with a skin\u2014 cracked and smooth at once, but also bearing wounds stemming from the very process of working and living. They are about nothing less than life itself. It is the course of things to which I surrender while working. Paul C\u00e9zanne said he painted parallel to nature. I say: while painting, I become a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

small part of nature; I become part of the course of things. More precisely: I am no longer the subject\u2014my ego is suspended. I find myself in an extremely lucid trance state, acting without acting. For us Central Europeans this is not easy, since we are control freaks. Reaching that state was a long journey for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was, in fact, painting itself that guided me. Not theoretical considerations or philosophy, but painting itself showed me the way to mental openness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CV<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

STUDIEN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • 1982 \u2013 1987 Studium Freie Kunst, Hochschule f\u00fcr Bildende K\u00fcnste, Hamburg, bei<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Franz Erhard Walther<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 1977 \u2013 1985 Studium der Philosophie und Kunstgeschichte, Universit\u00e4t Hamburg, M. A. phil.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    STIPENDIEN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • 2021 Stipendium Stiftung Kulturwerk<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 2020 Stipendium Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn, Neustart Kultur<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1989 Stipendium des DAAD, Chelsea School of Art, London, UK<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1988 Stipendium des Kunstfonds e.V. Bonn, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1987 Arbeitssstipendium der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg, DE<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      MEDIENARBEIT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • 1998 \u2013 2008 W\u00f6chentliche literarisch-k\u00fcnstlerische Kolumne in der Radiosendung \u201eOcean Club Radio\u201c auf Radio Eins, RBB<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • 1994 \u2013 1998 Mitherausgeber der \u201eNummer\u201c, Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Kunst, Literatur und Theorie, K\u00f6ln, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • 1985 \u2013 2002 Redaktionelle Radiobeitr\u00e4ge \u00fcber Kunst f\u00fcr den NDR Hamburg und RBB, Berlin\/ Potsdam, DE \u2028<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        EINZELAUSSTELLUNGEN (Auswahl)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • 2022 Wolfgang Betke. und pl\u00f6tzlich: Der s\u00fc\u00dfe k\u00fchle Duft von Morgenwald, Setareh, D\u00fcsseldorf, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2020 Wolfgang Betke. Instagram Take Over of jungemeister_innen, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2020 Wolfgang Betke. Apparition in the silent woods of Sch\u00fcller, Sch\u00fcller, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2018 Wolfgang Betke. Schweigezone, Setareh Gallery, D\u00fcsseldorf, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2016 Wolfgang Betke. Zeugen des Zustandes, Aurel Scheibler, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Wolfgang Betke. So ist die Lage, Setareh Gallery, D\u00fcsseldorf, DE\u20282015<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Wolfgang Betke. Eine Verschwindung, eine Ankommung und Irgendwas Dazwischen,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Nicole Gnesa, M\u00fcnchen, DE\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2014 Wolfgang Betke. se faire voyant, Brandenburgischer Kunstverein Potsdam e.V., DE\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2013 Wolfgang Betke. Der Glanz der stummen Sprache, Nicole Gnesa, M\u00fcnchen, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Wolfgang Betke. OBERFL\u00c4CHENTIEFGANG, Aurel Scheibler, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2012 Wolfgang Betke. Yet to be titled, Galerie Charlotte Moser, Genf, CH<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Wolfgang Betke. \u201e\u2026mit an Abstraktheit grenzender Unsch\u00e4rfe der Zustand des Menschen jetzt.\u201c, St\u00e4dtische Galerie Waldkraiburg, DE\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2011 Wolfgang Betke. One good painting with ten holes is better than ten bad paintings without holes, Galerie Opdahl, Stavanger, NO\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2010 Wolfgang Betke. Ich w\u00e4r so gern Dein Schmuckeremit!, Aurel Scheibler \/ ScheiblerMitte, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Wolfgang Betke. Aurel Scheibler @ JH Architecture, London, UK<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Wolfgang Betke. Armory Show New York, Aurel Scheibler (Solopr\u00e4sentation), US\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2009 Wolfgang Betke. fern von treibjagd und position, flie\u00dfend unter den dingen, mit,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Galerie Thomas Flor, D\u00fcsseldorf, DE\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2007 Wolfgang Betke. Non zyni Ut opium, Galerie Thomas Flor, D\u00fcsseldorf, DE\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 2005 Wolfgang Betke. deren bart um den tisch herum w\u00e4chst und w\u00e4chst, dreimal, siebenmal, neunmal, Manoir de Cologny, Genf, CH\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 1994 \u201eEine handgemalte Tapete\u201c, Galerie Transit, Leuven<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 1998 Wolfgang Betke. Arbeiten am Intimbereich III, Galerie Lukas & Hoffmann, K\u00f6ln, DE\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 1997 \u201eArbeiten am Intimbereich II\u201c, ein Abend mit Pole aka Stefan Betke, Galerie Hammelehle & Ahrens, Stuttgart, DE \u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 1997 Arbeiten am Intimbereich I, K\u00fcnstlerhaus Stuttgart, DE (Kurator: Nikolaus Schafhausen)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Wolfgang Betke. Arbeiten am Intimbereich II, mit Pole aka Stefan Betke, Galerie Hammelehle & Ahrens, Stuttgart, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 1990 Wolfgang Betke. Galerie Luis Campana, Frankfurt\/Main, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 1989 Westwerk, Hamburg, DE<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • GRUPPENAUSSTELLUNGEN (Auswahl)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2022 The Fiction of Property II, Kienzle Art Foundation, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2020 ambig, curated by Michael Lukas, Galerie der K\u00fcnstler, Munic, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2019 NOTEBOOK, 56 Henry, New York City, USA, Gruppenausstellung kuratiert von<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Joanne Greenbaum<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2019 Au rendez-vous des amis, Aurel Scheibler, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2017 Wolfgang Betke and Gregor Gleiwitz. Beyond the Fringe, Setareh Gallery, D\u00fcsseldorf, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • IN DEN TIEFEN DER OBERFL\u00c4CHE, Kunstverein KISS, Kunst im Schlo\u00df Untergr\u00f6nigen e.V., DE, kuratiert von Ulrike Buhl<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2016 HOW TO BE UNIQUE \u2013 Sammlung Kienzle, Kienzle Art Foundation, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2015 THERE IS NEVER A STOP AND NEVER A FINISH, Kreuzberg Pavillon, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • The Black and White Key, Schaufenster, Raum f\u00fcr Kunst, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • l\u2018oiseau pr\u00e9sente\u2026be abstract, Ballhaus Ost, Berlin, DE\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Summertime, Aurel Scheibler, Berlin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • l\u2018oiseau pr\u00e9sente\u2026be abstract, Kunstverein Schw\u00e4bisch Hall, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Flowers and other abstractions, Markhof 2, Wien, AT, kuratiert von Florin Kompatscher<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2014 Der Kubist Marcel Duchamp mag nicht malen, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin, DE, kuratiert von Michael M\u00fcller<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • \u201eThe Cross Shown\u201c, Nuova Galleria Morone, Mailand, Italien<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • on the same side of the water, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin, DE, kuratiert von Michaela Zimmer\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • \u201eAbout Edith\u201c, Ballhaus Ost, Berlin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • SOLOS III, OZEAN, Berlin, DE\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • l\u2018oiseau pr\u00e9sente\u2026 Der Garten der Pfade, die sich verzweigen. II, Ballhaus Ost, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2013 Painting Forever! Keilrahmen, Kunst-Werke Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Ikarier, Galerie Mikael Andersen, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • \u201eT\u00f6nung\u201c, kuratiert kuratiert von Dominik Halmer und Ria Patricia R\u00f6der,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Kreuzberg Pavillon, Berlin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • schwarzweiss-vier, kuratiert von Max Schulze und Katrin Menne, K\u00f6lnischer Kunstverein<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2012 Alternative Entrance, kunstbunker \u2013 forum f\u00fcr zeitgen\u00f6ssische kunst, N\u00fcrnberg, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2011 Menschenbilder- Ausgew\u00e4hlte Werke aus der Sammlung zeitgen\u00f6ssischer Kunst der<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Gro\u00dfe Kunstschau Worpswede, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Der dritte Raum, Kunsthalle D\u00fcsseldorf, DE, Museum f\u00fcr Moderne Kunst, Warschau, PL<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2010 \u201eWenn die Nacht am tiefsten ist, ist der Tag am n\u00e4chsten\u201c, kuratiert von Birte Kleemann und Gabriel Vormstein, Stern Pissarro Gallery, London, UK<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • \u201eWho They, What Do And Why\u2026 \u201c, Ausstellung gemeinsam mit Andreas Fischer, Katlen Hewel, Constantin Wallh\u00e4user, Kunstverein Koelnberg, K\u00f6ln\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2009 Flugversuch mit Spurenkammer, Galerie Kienzle & Gmeiner, Berlin, DE (Kuratoren: Gabi und Wilhelm Sch\u00fcrmann)\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2008 Art is not mute, Erste Konsthall, G\u00f6teborg, SE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • \u201eUnbehaust\u201c, after the butcher, Ausstellungsraum f\u00fcr zeitgen\u00f6ssische Kunst , Berlin, mit Andreas Fischer, Knut Kla\u00dfen, Britta Lumer, Isa Melsheimer<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2007 \u201eSchwarzweiss 2\u201c, Ausstellung zur Magazinpr\u00e4sentation von Katrin Menne und Max Schulze, Parkhaus am Malkasten, D\u00fcsseldorf<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2006 \u201eGl\u00fcck Auf\u201c, K\u00fcnstlerbibliothek mit Lieblingsb\u00fcchern, Schickeria, Berlin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • \u201ebetonwurst und andere teamgeister\u201c, after the butcher, Raum f\u00fcr zeitgen\u00f6ssische Kunst, Berlin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2004 subversiv, sexy und stilvoll, malerei heute, Stadtmuseum Jena, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Mann und Frau intim, Kunsthaus Erfurt, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 2002 ICI Berlin!: Maler aus Berlin in Genf, Galerie Charlotte Moser, Genf, CH<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 1995 \u201eDe Gemartelde Tijd\u201c, Zu dem Bild \u201eDas Martyrium des Hl. Erasmus\u201c<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Romaanse Poort, Leuven\/ Belgien<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 1994 \u201eFussball-Karaoke\u201c, kuratiert von Georg Herold, Porticus, Frankfurt\/Main<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • \u201ePapier, Beeld, Basis\u201c, Stedelijk Museum Aalst\/ Belgien<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 1992 XXX, K\u00f6nigliches Palais, Antwerpen\/ Belgien<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 1992 Berlin, da fahr ich hin, Galerie Lukas & Hoffmann, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            PERFORMANCES und Lesungen (Auswahl)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • 2016 Die wundersamen Erlebnisse der Herren Justerini & Brook, Lesung, Setareh Gallery, D\u00fcsseldorf, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • 2013 Archimedes, Performance, Kunst-Werke Berlin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Reenactment des Vortrages von Willy Baumeister \u201eDas Kreative geht dem Unbekannten k\u00fchn entgegen\u201c, Aurel Scheibler, Berlin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • 2012 Archimedes, Performance, St\u00e4dtische Galerie Waldkraiburg, DE\u20282010<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Trend Mensch, Poetry Performance mit u.a. Gerhard R\u00fchm, Kunstklub, Stuttgart, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • 2009 Garden Songs, Musik \u00fcber einen Text von Wolfgang Betke f\u00fcr Fl\u00f6te, E-Gitarre und<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Schlagzeug. Komposition: Marc Sabat im Auftrag des Saarl\u00e4ndischen Rundfunk\u2018s, Katalogver\u00f6ffentlichung mit Synchronperformance mit M.G. Schmid, Bar Kottbusser Damm 9, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • 2007\/09 DER ROTE SOHN UND DIE WEISSE FRAU, Galerie Kienzle & Gmeiner, Berlin, DE;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Galerie Ben Kaufmann, Berlin; Galerie duvekleemann, Berlin, Sprechst\u00fcck, DE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • 2008 Institut f\u00fcr moderne Kunst N\u00fcrnberg, Lesung, UM 08, Festival of Music, Art and Literature, Sternhagen Gut<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Lesung 500 Jahre Ocean Club, Livesendung f\u00fcr Radio Eins, RBB aus dem Berghain, Berlin, DE<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              BIBLIOGRAPHIE (Auswahl)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              • MEHR BERLIN, 1 Seite Wolfgang Betke im Tagesspiegel, Berlin, Kuratiert von Christiane Meixner, 13.6.2020<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Wolfgang Betke. Schweigezone, Setareh Gallery, (Ausst.kat.), D\u00fcsseldorf 2018<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Prince, Mark: Wolfgang Betke. Brandenburgischer Kunstverein Potsdam, in: frieze magazine, Ausga-be 16, London\/New York\/Berlin 2014, S. 143<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Scheibler, Aurel: Wolfgang Betke, in: Artforum International Magazine, November Ausgabe, New York 2013, S. 303<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Nedo, Kito\/Keiper, Elke: Wolfgang Betke. \u201e\u2026mit an Abstraktheit grenzender Unsch\u00e4rft der Zustand des Menschen jetzt\u201c, hg. von Elke Keiper, St\u00e4dtische Galerie Waldkraiburg, (Ausst.kat.), Waldkraiburg 2012<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Betke, Wolfgang: Versuchsanordnungen und Flugversuche jeglicher Art, Galerie Thomas Flor, (Ausst. kat.), D\u00fcsseldorf 2009<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Pech, Martin: Wolfgang Betke, \u00fcbersetzt von Michael Robinson, in: frieze magazine, Ausgabe 34, London\/New York\/Berlin 1997<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • \u00d6ffentlich oder privat? Gregor Schwerin \u00fcber Wolfgang Betke in der Galerie Lukas & Hoffmann in K\u00f6ln, in: Texte zur Kunst, Ausgabe 26, Berlin 1997, S. 176<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Vogel, Sabine B.: Wolfgang Bethke (sic!), in: Artforum International Magazine, September Ausgabe, New York 1990<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • DAAD- Scholarship holders in London 1988\/89: Thomas Bernstein, Wolfgang Betke, Markus Eisen- mann, (u.a.), Goethe-Institute London and The German Academic Exchange in London, (Ausst.kat.), London 1989<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Behm, Harald (u.a.): 8. Hamburger Arbeitsstipendium f\u00fcr bildende Kunst 1988: J\u00fcrgen Albrecht, Wolfgang Betke, Holger Benthien, Jaakov Blumas, Heiner Blumenthal, Andreas Coerper, Martin Conrad, Martina Ebel, Joachim Flinzer, Infant Zoyt, Kunsthalle Hamburg, (Ausst.kat.), Hamburg 1989<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Wolfgang Betke, hg. von XPO Galerie, (Ausst.kat.), Hamburg 1988<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>