A. R. Penck

A. R. PENCK (Dresden, Germany; 1939- Switzerland, 2017).
Untitled, ca.1995
Acrylic on cardboard.
Signed in pencil.
Measurements: 32 x 20 cm; 62 x 50 cm (frame).

In this work, Penck resorts to his characteristic language of primary signs to construct a schematic, almost totemic figure. The extreme simplification of the body, with angular limbs and open gestures, refers to a universal symbolic system rather than an individual representation. The color and frontality reinforce a sense of alertness and tension, while the figure seems to act as an emblem of power, resistance or basic communication. The work thus condenses Penck's reflection on the human being reduced to a sign, between the archaic and the political.

A. R. Penck was a key figure of the German New Figuration. Self-taught in East Germany, he developed his own language based on archaic signs and figures, which placed him on the fringes of the official institutions of the GDR and earned him constant surveillance and censorship. After his move to West Germany in 1980, his career acquired a decisive international projection. He participated in fundamental exhibitions such as Zeitgeist (Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin) and New Art at the Tate Gallery (1983), establishing himself alongside artists such as Baselitz, Immendorff and Lüpertz. His work is represented in important international collections and museums, including the Tate Gallery (London), the MoMA (New York), the Centre Pompidou (Paris) and prominent German and Swiss museums.