Heads, Kisses, Battles. Nicole Eisenman and The Moderns

Nicole Eisenman (b.1965) is an American artist known for paintings and sculptures. Human existence, social conventions, conflicts and identity are central themes in the artist's work in which compositional elements from the Renaissance, history painting and modern art mingle with contemporary aspects of pop culture and subculture.

Organized in close cooperation with the artist, the exhibition gathers more than 70 paintings, drawings and prints by Nicole Eisenman in dialogue with works of modern art, individually arranged for the exhibition tour at the Kunsthalle Bielefeld, the Aargauer Kunsthaus, the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles and the Kunstmuseum Den Haag.

Using established art-historical references and forms that are given a contemporary charge, Eisenman succeeds in opening up fresh perspectives on historical artistic positions. Then, works of modern art by internationally renowned artists such as Karel Appel, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso or Vincent van Gogh as well as nationally established artistic positions like Alice Bailly and Max von Moos from Switzerland, or the Dutch artist Co Westerik, reveal new approaches to Eisenman's oeuvre.