Please don’t sit on the Pictures
- Artist: Martin Kippenberger
- Date: 1996
- Medium: Lithograph on paper
- Dimensions: image: 698 x 498 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the "Please don’t sit on the Pictures" by German artist Martin Kippenberger. Created in 1996 as a lithograph on paper, this poster was produced for an exhibition at Galerie Mikael Anderson in Copenhagen. Kippenberger, known for his bold paintings, sculptures and even music, made over 170 posters throughout his career, using them to advertise everything from shows to parties. This particular print wasn’t grouped into one of his folios, yet it captures his signature humor and social critique. As art critic Jutta Koether noted, Kippenberger’s posters “best represent him and sum up the range of his ability: the humour, the social critique, the clever combination of provocative images and allusions.” The work sits in the Tate Modern’s Media Networks room, where visitors can see how Kippenberger’s graphic work challenges the conventional structures of the art world. The piece was purchased by the museum in 2005 and remains a vibrant example of his provocative visual wit.
See it in person
Please don’t sit on the Pictures 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.
