WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI
"ENGEL"

2 June — 14 July, 2024
Galerie Lilian Andreè, Basel-Riehen, Switzerland

Introducing Wolfgang Beltracchi would be like carrying coals to Newcastle. Numerous films and books have reported on him and his wife Helene, and his work has been extensively discussed.

The exhibition at the Lilian Andrée Gallery in Riehen is exclusively dedicated to the theme of angels.

"We have abandoned the angels, and they have abandoned us. That is the situation we find ourselves in today," Beltracchi says about his inspiration. He approaches his subject, the angel, not only from a painterly perspective but also embeds it in societal and philosophical considerations.

It may sound contradictory, but Wolfgang Beltracchi, a former large-scale art forger who went to prison for his fraud, describes himself as a "fundamentally honest" person. And indeed, the "master painter," as the artist refers to himself, reveals an unexpectedly reverent side in his latest works.