Anxiety
- Artist: Martin Kippenberger
- Date: 1989
- Medium: Screenprint on paper
- Dimensions: image: 858 x 607 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Anxiety” by Martin Kippenberger. It’s a screenprint on paper from 1989, made to promote the exhibition of the same name staged with Markus Oehlen in Innsbruck. Kippenberger, a German artist whose work ranges from painting and sculpture to music and writing, produced over 170 posters that doubled as playful yet sharp advertising. This print comes from the “Courage to Print” folio, a set of twenty‑five prints that showcase his humor, social critique and bold visuals. The German caption is a tongue‑in‑cheek jab at the anxiety of the art world, with imagery that both embraces and undermines institutional norms. Notice how the text flows into the image, turning a simple poster into a statement that blurs the line between art and marketing. It invites you to look beyond the surface and ask what truly counts as official art.
See it in person
Anxiety is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
