U2

U2 (1994) by Berend Strik references both the Irish rock band and the second letter of the alphabet — creating a double meaning that connects popular music to the fundamental structures of language and representation.

Strik describes the work: "A mixed pencil and colored pencil work featuring the German phrase 'Ich bin ein Arschloch' ('I am an asshole') in red pencil, alongside abstract marks that seem to comment on the statement — affirming and denying it simultaneously."

The U2 connection is provocative: the band is known for its earnest, politically engaged rock music, while the phrase "Ich bin ein Arschloch" is the kind of thing a character in a Jean-Luc Godard film might say — a gesture of provocative self-abasement that is simultaneously funny and serious.

The 1994 date places this work in a productive period when Strik was exploring the boundaries between drawing, text, and conceptual art. The direct use of text in this work anticipates his later interest in the semantic dimensions of image-making — how words and pictures interact to create meaning.

Sources: Galerie Fons Welters