"Realitiy is the picture, it is definitely not IN the picture"

This sentence as spoken by Georg Baselitz can be understood as the programme for his works of art. This is the case even though the artist, born as Hans-Georg Kern in the town of Deutschbaselitz in the federal state of Saxony in 1938, has always remained true to representational art in his pictures, sculptures and prints-at first glance.

On his way to autonomy of the motif, Baselitz, who moved to (at that time) West Berlin in 1957, has developed his own unmistakeable stamp: since 1969, all motifs have been turned upside down, on their heads, as it were. This turning represents the most significant step in his work.

By calling into question the basis of our seeing, which has been the all-powerful idea of a perspectivistic-tectonic picture space since the early Renaissance, Baselitz gains the freedom to give the object a new and novel authenticity. His changed sight of things forces the viewer of his works to step back from knowledge of the motif of the picture and - instead - recognize and appreciate the richness of relationships yielded by form and color.

The exhibition of the ifa shows central positions of his work in prints from 1965 to 1992.