Art - 8 December 2021 by C. Mauer

SYLVESTER STALLONE

Retrospective at the Osthaus Museum Hagen

"Failure is the great school of art"

December 4 - February 20, 2022

The Osthaus Museum Hagen is hosting a Retrospective of 53 works by Sylvester Stallone to celebrate his 75th birthday. The museum was founded by Karlheinz Osthaus in 1902. The Folkwang soon gained fame as the world's first museum of contemporary art, because Karlheinz Osthaus exhibited art that was not seen as art at the time. Today, works by the greatest artists of our time hang in it, and the exhibition featuring Sylvester Stallone is a worthy continuation of the museum. 

It is not very well known that Sylvester Stallone's career began as an artist before he became an actor. In the expressive paintings there are heroic figures, respectful portraits of women and poetry, interpreted in different styles. In many of his works there are clockworks, because for the artist "Time is everything" - his time runs both as an actor and as an artist. Quite remarkable and shown for the first time are 4 paintings he did in 1966, about 10 years before the artist became known as Rocky. 

On December 3, 2021, despite the latest Corona crisis, the artist Sylvester Stallone personally came to Hagen for the opening. It is not his first exhibition. In 2013, the State Museum in St Petersburg showed his works. After that, the paintings were on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Nice.

For the director of the Osthaus Museum, Dr. Tayfun Belgin, Sylvester Stallone's works are expressive paintings that energetically show what constitutes our existence and revolve around themes such as play, dreams, fantasy - but also show harsh realities such as faith and death. The museum director is particularly impressed by the biographical reality of Sylvester Stallone, which includes his involvement in profit and loss around Rocky, Rambo and other films.

When asked why he shows painting celebrities, Sylvester Stallone's gallery owner Mathias Rastorfer, CEO of Galerie Gmurzynska, replied that Stallone's artwork is simply great. It is the task of museums and galleries to do research and show art that has an impact on our time and is of historical significance, he said. In the case of Sylvester Stallone, the gallery owner says, "it's a wonderful irony that his paintings are hanging in a museum that was founded in 1902 for paintings that weren't recognized as art at the time, but are art today." The hanging of Stallone's works at the Osthaus Museum, he said, is the best and most comprehensive yet done.

Artist Sylvester Stallone also fielded questions from journalists, stating that he was honored by the exhibition's large presence in the sprawling museum. It is still a very new world and an important step forward for him as an artist. Painting, he said, is very different from being in a movie, where you have the support of 500 crew members. "In painting, you're as naked as you come into the world. There are no excuses - one man is responsible, one man takes the blame or the shame or the fame. I'm very happy to be here in this historic building, hanging next to the greatest painters who ever lived. I don't consider myself in that league but it's a great honor."

When asked how he started painting, the artist told a moving story of his father. One day, he brought home the cleaned laundry in a cleaning box typical of the time. On the back of this cardboard he painted afterwards his first picture. It was set in Africa with a Maasai warrior - although he had never been to Africa and had never seen a warrior, this scene had come to his mind. He had remarked that painting was the purest of arts, but could also mean flushing out frustration and leading you down a path you never intended.

The exhibition at the Osthaus Museum also includes 4 works from Sylvester Stallone's early days that have never been shown before. In his early days, the artist bought canvases for $2 and then sold the works for $5. However, he said he was ashamed of his early works and hid them in his closet for over 60 years before his gallery owner persuaded him to show them.

When asked by a journalist what inspires him, Sylvester Stallone said that for artists challenges in life are very important and fear is significant to drive to new ventures. " If I get too used to one style and think there's no challenge here, I get restless and try a new style." Consciously, he said, he then moved from style to style and also went into areas he was afraid of. Only after he had painted up to 20 paintings, he said, did he realize he was getting better. The artist also had the same experience as a writer; he had in fact written the screenplay for Rocky himself. 

Sylvester Stallone also found very inspiring emotional words about failure as an artist. "It's always about failure. Failure is the great school of art. Constantly going on with the things you have. Finding your own strength. Everybody is different."

He said that as a Hollywood star, he has also found it very difficult to be recognized as an artist. To which his gallerist Mathias Rastorfer replied that there was already the idea in the Renaissance that as an artist you can have many talents. This idea has been lost, but in recent years the art world has become more open again.

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The exhibition at Osthaus Hagen shows 53 expressive paintings by the artist Sylvester Stallone, a highly talented person in many aspects. A creative period of over 65 years is represented.

Sylvester Stallone has inspired many generations with his films and his fighting spirit. It has long been clear that behind the fighter type there is also a sensitive, life-affirming and clever personality. Through the exhibition, one now gets to know yet another facet of his personality in addition to the enjoyment of art. 

It remains exciting to see which works of art by Sylvester Stallone will be on display in the future.

Artworks by Sylvester Stallone