WOLF VOSTELL - DÉ COLL/AGEN - 1954 / 69 - EXHIBITION CATALOGUE GALERIE RENÉ BLOCK, BERLIN


WOLF VOSTELL - DÉ COLL/AGEN - 1954 / 69 - EXHIBITION CATALOGUE GALERIE RENÉ BLOCK, BERLIN


Published by: Galerie René Block, 1969, first edition

Softcover, 448 pages

23.7 x 17 cm

Language: German

Condition:

Wolf Vostell – Dé-coll/agen 1954–69 is a seminal exhibition catalogue that documents one of the most radical and influential periods in the artist's career. Published in conjunction with a major 1969 exhibition at Galerie René Block in Berlin, the book serves as both a retrospective and a theoretical exploration of Vostell's concept of "Dé-coll/age"—a term he coined to describe his method of artistic deconstruction, disruption, and transformation.

Vostell was a key figure in the Fluxus movement and an early pioneer of happenings, conceptual art, and video art. His Dé-coll/agen works, created between 1954 and 1969, involved tearing, layering, and reconfiguring mass-media images, advertisements, and urban materials to expose the hidden violence, consumerism, and contradictions of postwar society. These works often incorporated elements of painting, collage, photography, and sculpture, reflecting the influence of Dada, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism while pushing into new conceptual and performative territory.

The catalogue not only presents a comprehensive selection of Vostell’s works but also includes documentation of his happenings, performances, and urban interventions, many of which were politically charged and confrontational. His engagement with themes such as war, the omnipresence of media, and the fragmentation of reality made his work particularly relevant in the socio-political climate of the 1960s.

Galerie René Block, known for championing avant-garde artists, provided a platform for Vostell’s groundbreaking ideas, helping to cement his legacy within the history of postwar European art. This catalogue is an essential document of that moment, offering insight into an artist who continually sought to disrupt perception and challenge the status quo through art.