Texts by K. Heymer, J. Heynen, and M. Kliege

The American artist Sherrie Levine realises in her works the artistic praxis of appropriating, repeating and varying famous earlier artworks. At the same time in doing so she creates her own new oeuvre. Beyond the mere copy she further develops the works conceptually and with historical clichés, presenting it to the viewer for reconsideration.

Sherrie Levine is a photographer, painter, and sculptor and is celebrated above all in the United States. When we first consider her works we think of the imitation and interpretation of the reference works, but our conclusions about the copy soon disappear in favor of a new, autonomous original. The volume shows over 50 works “after” artists like Duchamp, Cézanne, Degas, van Gogh, and Mondrian, from whose masterpieces Sherrie Levine has created something new. In addition art experts place her work in context, for example with regard to her choice of subject or her methods of reproduction.