Anton Henning, born in 1964, continues to challenge the contemporary art world with paintings, sculptures and movies in an irrevelantly uncompromising sensibility that can easily draw comparisons to Francis Picabia or Sigmar Polke. But a clearly indelible facet of his career includes joining Vrej Baghoomian Gallery in NYC in the late 1980's, a landing spot for Jean-Michel Basquiat who was famously represented there until his untimely death in 1988 of a heroin overdose. Though the gallerist Baghoomian is a character cloaked in a very colorful history all his own, his posthumous exhibition of Basquiat's works in 1989 is one of legend. And in that same year at that same gallery, Anton Henning exhibited a small series of watercolors on paper (among other works) called Junkie. This is one of those paintings.

I don't know if Basquiat was a direct or otherwise influence on an equally young Henning at that time, but it's difficult to overlook the time and place. A shockingly honest painting, you don't need the title to see what's there. But is it pretty or is it ugly? Do we relate, or are we disgusted? It's a provacative piece for sure, and not for the weak. I can't stop looking at it. Pain or love, acceptance or denial, habitual or nevermore, if nothing else it demands reflection.

The lineage is compelling. And the picture is a timeless reminder of the voice of art. This is a great opportunity to own an accomplished painting with quite a story to tell.

Please note the pictures include a few other works in the series, which I do not have available. It's a unique piece, but still part of something that will connect you to more than one.

Anton Henning, Junkie, 1989, mixed media on paper

SKU: AH1-2025-07

$0.00

Take it home, hang it on the wall in that just-right spot, or move it around a bit, live with it for a bit. And if you find for whatever reason it's simply not perfect for you, we'll take it back. No questions asked. You will receive a full refund for the price of the painting. But please note that any custom framing that was done for you cannot be refunded.
Born 1964 in Berlin, Germany; currently lives in Manker, Germany. Visit Anton Henning's website to learn more.

A 2007 Artforum review provides additional insight:

"ALTHOUGH HE IS LITTLE KNOWN in America, Anton Henning has become one of Germany’s most compelling artists. Born in Berlin in 1964, he found art school so boring that he dropped out, opting instead to train himself. A libertine at heart, Henning not only learned to paint but before long began to sculpt, record videos, design environments, and make music. In the late 1990s, he even established a fictive band, the Manker Melody Makers, as an alter ego, assuming the roles of all its members and documenting the band’s faux performances as though they were real events. The idea of a complete and closed system at the core of this project is intrinsic to his practice in general, which frequently trades in the idiom of the Gesamtkunstwerk. His museum installations leave nothing to chance—he not only maps out the placement of his works, frames them, lights them, and chooses the surrounding wall colors but also frequently equips the galleries with custom carpeting and furniture. Oases of a kind, these rooms parody the highbrow seriousness of more traditional picture galleries, as well as calling into question the value systems that make them possible."

Anton Henning, Junkie, 1989, mixed media on paper

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