To delve into Beuys' art may call for courage, but it is rewarding in the end. Not only because you get to know his art, but also because you can thereby acquire a spectrum of knowledge on contemporary art in general, with possible repercussions on your own life and your own perception. Even your workplace will become laden with artistic meaning. This is what is behind his expression, long become stock, that: "everyone is an artist."

A gift for observation and sensorial perception, a power of association and unusual combination of the aspects of everyday life are only some of the profits to be gained. There are many ways to approach Beuys' art. It is to your advantage to delve into his conceptual theories as well. A great number of publications, photo documentation and interviews provide good introductions. Looking at the entirety of his work in the Schellmann register of works will make the importance of his early drawings evident. These sketches are like sparks in direct contact with his entire work, consisting mostly of 'happenings', interventions, multiple objects and installations. The early drawings, as well as almost all of the lithographs and etchings shown here lead in this direction. They are a direct link to his artistic conscience, to the quintessence of an underground knowledge from which his creative potential has taken form. The fact that precisely this precious lucidity shines through in graphics is by merit of Grafos Verlag, who suggested the idea. It met with the artist's approval, since he had already intended to present his sketches from 40's and 50's together. Joseph Beuys knew the secret of these early works. The early drawings appear in the form of later prints to become the Alpha and Omega of a reflexive artistic balancing act. Each separate print can be linked with the whole of his oeuvre up to his very last works in 1985.

These prints are interrelated and yet each stands independently with its very own contemplative and associative power. Moments of perception and inspiration, they are masterpieces of drawing and graphic art, gallery pieces for the 20th century. Prints which, simply through the intimate dialogue between the artist and his objects, are thoroughly convincing. The drawings are created in a most direct manner. No drawn-out procedures. The work process remains transparent through to the ground. Paintbrushes in all sizes, feathers and brushes serve as tools. The first three graphics by Beuys in Grafos Verlag were printed by the Matthieu firm in Zurich, as were many other prints by this artist. Later he collaborated with the Barbarà studio in Barcelona. Here also, Beuys' sketches were transferred onto lithographs and copperplate prints. Even recreating the aura of the original qualities of the paper became part of the work by pressing different papers together and combining printing techniques. The high drawing and painterly denseness, the immediacy and the ephemeral nature of the figures were carried over in the graphic works. The transitory gains a central importance in Beuys' work. ek