Helmut Middendorf

Helmut Middendorf is one of Germany’s most renowned painters. As a member of the neo-expressionists, the Neue Wilden, he left a lasting impression on the artistic landscape of the 1980s. In 2022, Middendorf showed an exhibition entitled Berlin SO 36 revisited at the Museum Schloss Derneburg, Hall Art Foundation. SO 36 was the name of an area of Kreuzberg, but also of the famous music venue that inspired many of the artist’s works. Middendorf lived and worked in Berlin Kreuzberg’s SO 36 district throughout the 1970s and 80s. As well as the documentation accompanying the exhibition at the Museum Schloss Derneburg, this publication presents a wide selection of paintings and works on paper dating from that era, most of which are being republished here for the first time in many years. A large number of hitherto unseen photographs from the artist’s private archive also feature.