Niedergang. The name means: "decline, descent, decadence." To view this group of paintings is to descend into a sexual fantasy world inhabited by a hairy chested man wearing a pink corset, Victorian lovers fucking on an absurd Art Nouveau chaise, clowns screwing little people, aggressive tops, and bottoms squirting cum. 

This isn’t the easiest work to look at without flinching. It’s presented with no apologies but with boldness and humor. The colors are vibrant, bordering on lurid. The blacks are so dark they feel solid. The brushstrokes reflect the energy of the subject matter. Together they elicit a visceral reaction, which may or may not be a good thing. But it’s unique and powerful.

And then, something completely different. Five regular guys in what you might call a “line jerk.” The focus is on the men’s expressions– the sly and knowing smiles, the hungry looks– rather than their erections. If the clowns are a kitschy nightmare, these guys are the subject of a documentary. Tom of Finland they are not.

Maybe most shocking is the sketch of a young man lifting the crucified Jesus’ loin cloth to lick the head of His dick.

These aren’t the kind of paintings you’d see in a gallery in the 1960s, and probably not today either. But Niedergang was no dilettant. Nothing is known about him other than his dates (1920 - 1981, died in Paris). If it speaks to you at all, his work speaks for itself.

See the exhibition.