Sale: 529 / Post War / Contemporary Art, June 10. 2022 in Munich Lot 200

 

200
Sigmar Polke
Ohne Titel, Ca. 1984.
Gouache
Estimate:
€ 60,000 / $ 64,800
Sold:
€ 67,500 / $ 72,900

(incl. surcharge)
Ohne Titel. Ca. 1984.
Gouache.
84 x 155 cm (33 x 61 in), the full sheet.
[AR].
• Large gouache in intensive colors from the 1980s, which were important for Sigmar Polke's artistic development
• His contribution to the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennial was awarded the Golden Lion in 1986
• The international retrospective "Alibis: Sigmar Polke 1963 - 2010" honored the artist's life's work in 2010 (Museum of Modern Art, New York, Tate Modern, London and Museum Ludwig, Cologne)
.

We are grateful to Mr Michael Trier for the kind support in cataloging this lot.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Cologne (acquired directly from the artist)
Private collection Berlin.


„[…] his painting showed traces of change in the early 80s, which were much discussed in connection with the works for the exhibition 'Zeitgeist 1982' at Documenta 7, and which culminated in his contribution to the German Pavilion at the 42nd Venice Biennial (1986). Figuration steps back in favor of stronger gestural colors, their rich or veil-like superposition and amalgamation.“

Katharina Schmidt, quoted from: ex. cat. Sigmar Polke – Zeichnungen, Aquarelle, Skizzenbücher 1962 – 1988, Kunstmuseum Bonn 1988, p. 194.

Sigmar Polke's art is difficult to grasp from the start, as the artist constantly eludes classification and categorization. In 1963 he organized an exhibition on his own with Manfred Kuttner, Konrad Lueg and Gerhard Richter. Pop Art determined the discussions of this time and he also dealt with motifs from advertising and the press. An ironic distance is intended, which can also be felt by the insecure audience, and the artist's own sense of humor plays a decisive role. In the 1970s, the artist's love of experimentation dominated his work: dealing with photographic techniques was of great importance, he traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan and withdrew from the domestic context. He lives and works in a collective in Willich on the Lower Rhine, which fundamentally questions the concept of authorship.

The large and intensely colored gouache reflects his artistic development in the 1980s. While other artists were cautiously approaching figuration at the time, it was Sigmar Polke who once again rushed a step ahead and left figuration behind for the time being. He researches industrial colors with which completely new effects can be realized on paper and canvas. The colors are not only applied with a brush, but sometimes just poured. The loud and sometimes provocative motifs of earlier years give way to subtle and sensitive painting, which reached a climax with his contribution to the German pavilion in 1986. Sigmar Polke's achievements in the mid-1980s were of pioneering character for painters to this day. [SN]



200
Sigmar Polke
Ohne Titel, Ca. 1984.
Gouache
Estimate:
€ 60,000 / $ 64,800
Sold:
€ 67,500 / $ 72,900

(incl. surcharge)