Penck, A.R. | Erinnerung unbekannt — available on Composition Gallery

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// Erinnerung unbekannt by A.R. Penck is a lithograph that exemplifies the artist's raw, primitive style, focusing on simplified, symbolic forms and earthy tones. The composition features a large, imposing animal, reminiscent of a lion, positioned next to a human-like figure, with both figures outlined in bold, expressive strokes. The rough and textured surface gives a sense of immediacy and primal energy, while the reddish-brown palette adds to its archaic, almost prehistoric feel. Penck's work often explores themes of human conflict, power, and the relationship between humans and nature, evoking a sense of mystery and symbolic depth.

A.R. Penck (Germany, 1939–2017), born Ralf Winkler, was a neo-expressionist artist known for his bold, symbolic paintings and sculptures. His works often featured stick figures and graphic symbols, addressing themes of power, conflict, and humanity. Emerging from East Germany, Penck’s art became a defining voice of postwar European expressionism.

A.R. Penck

Erinnerung unbekannt

Name: Erinnerung unbekannt
SKU: 4350
Price: 1900.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

Form

Limited Edition Print

Limited Edition PrintA limited edition print is one of a number of prints made at the same time from one printmaking plate. A fixed number are made and signed by the artist, indicating the printing order, using the format 1/10, meaning first of ten prints.

Medium

Lithograph

Lithograph Lithography is a printing method based on the principle that water and oil do not mix. It can be used to print artwork or text onto paper or other suitable materials. Traditionally, an image was drawn with wax, fat, or oil onto a lithographic limestone surface or plate. Today, metal plates and other surfaces are also used in lithographic printing.

Edition

Edition of 60

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●Inventory 4350

A.R. Penck is a German sculptor, printmaker, painter and jazz percussionist. His early artistic education took place with other neo-expressionist painters in the city of Dresden, and he joined such figures as Georg Baselitz, Joerg Immendorff and Markus Luepertz, all of whom were considered as instigators of dissident by the East German government.
Their work appeared in several West Berlin shows in the 1970s, moving on to major galleries and museums in Western Europe in the 1980s, most famously in the "New Art" show at London's Tate Gallery in 1983. In the 1980s, A.R. Penck was known for paintings featuring human forms drawn with neo-primitivist design, including pictographic elements, human figures and other forms that appear on totems. His work continued to show up in many significant shows in New York City and London. A.R. Penck’s sculpture is less well known but expresses the same ideas as his drawings and paintings in terms of primitivism. His sculptures incorporate everyday materials such as cardboard, bottles, tin cans and wood, and they show crude assembly methods to evoke that primitive ambiance.

Artwork by Georg Baselitz

Who are the Neue Wilden?

Neue Wilden is the term German artists used for Neo-Expressionism. In the 1970s and 80s, expressive painting re-emerged in Germany, with artists embracing intense colors and broad brushstrokes. The movement grew in opposition to minimal and conceptual art, favoring a return to raw, emotional expression through bold and dynamic painting techniques.

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A.R. Penck

Erinnerung unbekannt

56 x 76 cm

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A.R. Penck