“Janus (rot)”, Hans Ticha (DE)

About the art:

The ironic comments in the artworks to the DDR’s regime self-image act as qualified complements to gain insight into German history and present, seen through Hans Ticha’s sceptical and critical eyes. German Hans Ticha delivers with his oil paintings a first-hand narrative of how it was to live in a divided Germany during the struggle of ideologies. The artist lived until the fall of the Wall in East Germany and moved immediately thereafter to West Germany.

Known for his amazing graphic works and more than 60 book illustrations, Ticha’s social criticism becomes no less snappy when he is adjudicating the symbol of Western society of the DDR youth organization, the blue shirt, which had been replaced by the bare skin while the brother kisses became kisses from Ferrero. His paintings contain a wealth of historical references, which ranges from the great political scene to the individual citizen’s daily life during and after the regime.

About the artist

Hans Ticha is one of the most important contemporary German graphic artist and illustrator who have experienced and described the last 50 years of Germany’s daily life and history through his artworks. The human is the central figure in Ticha’s works, often with grotesquely enlarged hands and small faceless heads.