Bendix Harms: Chosen Ones

Chosen Ones is a comprehensive monograph on the work of German painter Bendix Harms (born 1967), spanning over 15 years of work. A repertoire of motifs recurs throughout the nearly 400-page volume: birds, trees, airplanes, cars and the artist's profile­­, all rendered in loose, exuberant strokes of gray and muddy orange. Drawing on elusive autobiographical references, the paintings—whether of grotesque figures or more surrealistic scenes—are often humorous and suggestively narrative, compelling in their apparent disregard for and liberation from concept. “I love artists’ late works,” he has said, “when they display a completely free style because it no longer matters whether their work will earn them applause or a rap over the knuckles.”
The first major monograph on the artist, Chosen Ones features texts by Gisela Corleis and Grace Dunham as well as black-and-white photographs by Harms, in addition to reproductions of more than 300 paintings.