Joseph Beuys, 1921-1986

His objects made from materials like fat or felt made the sculptor, action artist and draughtsman from Krefeld an icon of Modernism. In his conception of "social sculpture" and with the words "Everybody is an artist" he demanded that everyone should participate creatively in the organisation of politics and society. Moyland Castle Museum, owned by the artist's good friends, the brother Van der Grinten, shows 5000 works and thus the most important Beuys collection worldwide. K20 of the Art Collection North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf, where Beuys taught as a professor, shows in addition to his last installation "Palazzo Regale" 60 further works. The Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt also shows an important collection of his works. In 1970 the artist himself installed the 250 objects including the famous chair with fat and until the mid 80s he repeatedly came and arranged the exhibits himself.