Die Neuen Wilden: Neo-Expressionism in Germany

Die Neuen Wilden (The New Wild Ones) was an informal group of young Neo-Expressionist artists active in Germany from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s. Taking a cue from German Expressionist art of the early 20th century, Neo-Expressionism was bold, raw, brutish, spontaneous, messy, vital, emotional, sensual, antimodern, antiprogressive, and at times nihilistic, denying any meaning in life. Led by the radical German artist Georg Baselitz, Neo-Expressionists challenged Minimalism and conceptual art, which were popular at the time, rejecting the detached objectivity and intellectual pretensions of those movements.

Intentionally male-dominated, Neo-Expressionism promoted the idea of the artist as hero. It also marked a return to the human body as a subject of art and to historical and mythological imagery. Though international in scope, with centers of activity in Italy, France, and the United States, Neo-Expressionism flourished most notably in Germany.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.