Kippenberger: The Artist and His Families

Susanne Kippenberger

J&L Books, Incorporated, 2011 - Biography & Autobiography - 564 pages

Over the course of his 20-year career, Martin Kippenberger (1953-1997) cast himself alternately as hard-drinking carouser and confrontational art-world jester, thrusting these personae to the forefront of his prodigious creativity. He was also very much a player in the international art world of the 1970s right up until his death in 1997, commissioning work from artists such as Jeff Koons and Mike Kelley, and acting as unofficial ringleader to a generation of German artists. Written by the artist's sister, Susanne Kippenberger, this first English-language biography draws both from personal memories of their shared childhood and exhaustive interviews with Kippenberger's extended family of friends and colleagues in the art world. Kippenbergergives insight into the psychology and drive behind this playful and provocative artist.

What people are saying

Review: Kippenberger

User Review  - Eric Dietz - Goodreads

As an artist, Martin Kippenberger was messy, sprawling, sometimes drunk and unfocused. This book feels like it, too.

Review: Kippenberger: The Artist and His Families

User Review  - Julian - Goodreads

Pretty moving and insightful view into Kippenberger's life, and, to a lesser extent, his work. I've always loved Kippenberger's art, but I usually assumed the underlying idea was an insistence on ...

About the author

Damion Searls has translated many of Europe's greatest writers: Rilke, Proust, Ingeborg Bachmann, Peter Handke, Nescio, Robert Walser, Kurt Schwitters, Jon Fosse, and others.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Kippenberger: The Artist and His Families
• Author: Susanne Kippenberger
• Translated by: Damion Searls
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: J&L Books, Incorporated, 2011
• ISBN: 0982964218, 9780982964217
• Length: 564 pages
• Subjects: Art / European; Art / Individual Artists / General; Biography & Autobiography / Artists, Architects, Photographers