mental map (mainspot)

mental map (mainspot)

2000
Artist
Franz Ackermann, German, 1963-
Born: Neumarkt-Sankt Veit, Germany
Work Locations: Berlin, Germany, Karlsruhe, Germany
Country
Germany
Object
collage, drawing
Medium
Mixed media on paper
Accession Number
2016.146
Credit Line
Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum
Franz Ackermann (German). mental map (mainspot). 2000. Mixed media on paper. Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum. 2016.146.
Dimensions
height: 21 3/4 in, 55.2450 cm; width: 30 in, 76.2000 cm; frame height: 25 in, 63.5000 cm; frame width: 32 7/8 in, 83.5025 cm; frame depth: 1 1/2 in, 3.8100 cm
Department
Modern and Contemporary Art
Collection
Modern and Contemporary Art

Franz Ackermann’s painting reflects the dilemma of global connectedness and the pressures of everyday life on the individual and communities. Ackermann posits an alternate, acerbic, and humorous means of considering the so-called “contemporary condition.” It has a level of abstraction that invites the visitor to project personal content into the artist’s message, and will be an integral work within themes of geopolitics. With a title that references Ackermann’s experiences traveling globally to such places as Singapore, Bangkok, and Ulan Bator, "mental map (mainspot)" is an amalgamation of big cities, with a sense of chaos confined to the small, visible colored portion in the center of the work.  The oval layers surrounding the central action give the impression that the city is sinking away from the viewer, while also mirroring the eye we use to look upon the scene. 

Franz Ackermann was born in 1963 in Neumarkt-Sankt Veit, Germany, and lives and works in Berlin, Germany. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Hamburg, DAAD, Hong Kong, and the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich.

Known Provenance
Purchased from Neugerriemschneider by Vicki and Kent Logan, 2001; gifted to Denver Art Museum 2016
Exhibition History
  • “Disruption: Works from the Vicki and Kent Logan Collection” — Denver Art Museum, 1/13/2022

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