Video walkthrough
Michael Buthe: Zerrissene Leinwände—Das konzeptuelle Frühwerk

In the late 1960s, German artist Michael Buthe wanted to create something cutting-edge and unprecedented without entirely abandoning the classical formats of painting, sculpture and drawing. It was this very conflict that paved the way to his early conceptual work—starting with the “Torn Canvases.” Buthe stretched canvases and other fabrics over stretcher frames, which he then tore or slashed. By doing this, the artist destructed and revived the classical panel painting in equal measure.