Hans-Peter Feldmann: The Art of Dodging Pyramids

Hans-Peter Feldmann, the German artist who won the 2010 Hugo Boss Prize, opened an exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York on May 20, 2011, running until November 2, 2011. For the show, he pinned 100,000 one-dollar bills—the prize money—vertically on the wall. Feldmann, who turned 70 in 2011, has never officially listed himself as an artist. He avoids market conventions: he does not date or sign works, does not limit editions, and stops or destroys series at will. His practice involves collecting and arranging images from everyday life—women, flowers, war, monuments—often in books with blank pages. He stopped making art for a decade in the 1980s to sell souvenirs and thimbles with his wife. Influenced by the Picture Generation, he admires David Hammons's "Bliz'aard Ball Sale" and Miroslav Tichý's outsider approach. Feldmann dislikes large-scale works and avoids his own openings. He has visited Egypt five times since the 1960s but never seen the pyramids, preferring postcards. He now wants to retire and live quietly, making art occasionally.