Kippenberger / Géricault Memento Metropolis
- Artist: Martin Kippenberger
- Date: 1996
- Medium: Screenprint on paper
- Dimensions: image: 598 x 398 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
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About this artwork
This is the “Kippenberger / Géricault Memento Metropolis” by Martin Kippenberger. Created in 1996 as a screen‑print on paper, it was the poster for his 1997 show at the Hessenhuis in Antwerp. The exhibition was split into two rooms. In one, Kippenberger re‑imagined his 1994 installation “The Happy End of Franz Kafka’s America,” while the other displayed fresh paintings and drawings inspired by Théodore Géricault’s 1819 masterpiece “The Raft of the Medusa,” alongside a later copy by Guillemet and Ronjat.
The poster cleverly mirrors that split layout: two elongated photographs of each room appear side by side, giving the viewer a visual map of the exhibition’s dual narrative. Kippenberger’s posters are known for their wit, social critique, and playful juxtaposition of iconic images. This piece exemplifies how he used the medium of print not just to advertise but to comment on the very structures of the art world, blurring boundaries between installation, painting, and promotional material.
See it in person
Kippenberger / Géricault Memento Metropolis is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
