The most well-known and emblematic works by the artist who revealed the inseparable bond between art and life
Joseph Beuys and his works profoundly shaped the foundations of post-war visual art. As an artist, he positioned himself at the opposite extreme from his friend and contemporary Andy Warhol. His artistic practice was deeply influenced by his personal biography: a former member of the Hitler Youth, he survived the crash of a bomber plane and was allegedly rescued by a group of Tatar nomads, who treated him using ancient traditional medicine. Although this episode is considered a legend, Beuys himself claimed it as a decisive moment in his creative journey.
This experience informed a practice driven by the constant search for harmony between nature, ecology, peace, and art—so much so that critics often referred to him as a shaman of art. Moving fluidly between sculpture, painting, and performance, Joseph Beuys’s work embodies an unconventional energy within contemporary art, reflecting a nomadic spirit in search of an anthropological and spiritual legacy.
What Is Art for Joseph Beuys?
For Beuys, art is a permanent process of ecological, economic, historical, and political connections. This vision culminates in the concept of social sculpture, a term he used to define his artistic practice. It is no coincidence that symbolism plays a central role in his work, particularly in the choice of materials, which are never arbitrary.
The year 2021 marked a renewed interest in Joseph Beuys on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. Below are five essential works to better understand his artistic vision.
Felt Suit (1970)
Felt Suit is the most iconic work by Joseph Beuys. Produced in 100 editions—one of which is housed at the Tate in London, despite having been damaged by moths—the piece takes the form of a suit, though it cannot be worn. Made of felt, a material the artist considered salvific (used, according to his legend, to heal him after the plane crash), the work embodies both protection and vulnerability.
Its anonymous, uniform-like appearance—identical to many others—creates a stark contrast between the material’s symbolic meaning and its visual form, evoking dramatic historical references such as concentration camps.
How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare (1965)
Joseph Beuys worked extensively with performance art, especially during his involvement with Fluxus, the international network of artists that in the 1960s blended multiple disciplines, including performative practices.
How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare is one of his most famous performances, staged at the Schmela Gallery in Düsseldorf. Alone inside the empty gallery while the audience remained outside, Beuys—his face covered in oil—held a dead hare in his arms and explained the paintings displayed on the walls to it. The performance invites viewers to experience art in a more instinctive way, free from the conventional social contexts in which art is usually consumed.
Chair with Fat (1964)
Joseph Beuys’s artistic activity was never fully aligned with predefined categories or established movements. Critics repeatedly attempted to associate him with Minimalism, Arte Povera, or Conceptual Art.
Chair with Fat exemplifies this resistance to categorization. The work references the salvation of human life through natural elements, merging human technical construction with organic matter, and highlighting the tension between culture and nature.
I Like America and America Likes Me (1974)
Among Beuys’s performances, I Like America and America Likes Me stands as one of his most successful. Presented at the René Block Gallery in New York, the performance involved the artist sharing a confined space with a coyote for several days, attempting to establish a relationship of trust.
The symbolic meaning of the work can be interpreted both as an effort toward reconciliation between humans and nature and as a metaphor for the American population seeking to reconnect with its own past, represented by the captive coyote—an animal native to the American continent.
7000 Oaks (1982)
The most monumental and iconic of Joseph Beuys’s works dates back to 1982 and was created for Documenta 7 in Kassel. In front of the Fridericianum Museum, the artist accumulated a large number of basalt stones, each linked to the planting of an oak tree. Anyone who took a stone contributed financially to the planting of a tree within the city.
As the pile of stones gradually diminished, oak trees began to appear throughout Kassel and its surrounding areas. This long-term performance perfectly illustrates Beuys’s vision of art, where nature, artistic practice, and collective participation merge into a single entity, transforming art into a shared, communal act.
font: https://www.elledecor.com/it/arte/a39580703/joseph-beuys-opere-piu-famose
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