Abraham David Christian
German · b. 1952
Contemporary / Conceptual
Sculpture (earth, paper, plaster, bronze), Drawing
DESCRIPTION
Abraham David Christian (born 1952 in Düsseldorf) is a German draughtsman and sculptor. He began his artistic practice in 1969 with actions and conceptual works, creating sculptures from earth—a medium that took years to shape—and refusing to define his own works as art. At just nineteen, he participated in documenta 5 in Kassel (1972), where he famously challenged Joseph Beuys to the legendary "Boxing Match for Direct Democracy." He was invited to documenta 6 (1977) but declined, and returned for documenta 7 (1982), after which he withdrew from the public art world for years. Christian represents a radical-democratic conception of art: art comes from society and belongs to it. He largely avoided public appearances, sometimes forbidding the press from publishing his portrait and omitting his name from catalogues, separating the artwork from the artist's persona as a counter-model to the ubiquitous artist-star.