Product Description

One of the most important artists of our time, Sigmar Polke has devoted much of the past quarter century to works that explore alchemical themes, and this catalogue is the first to focus on that golden thread in his paintings. With his characteristic exuberance, intelligence, and fearlessness, he has drawn upon such diverse sources as the cultures of the Far East and the Pacific Islands, the eighth-century Book of Kells, and the mythical pseudo-science of Hermes Trismegistus. In his 1982 painting Gold Nuggets, Polke went so far as to use highly poisonous paints containing arsenic, and in other works, he has employed precious minerals such as lapis lazuli to evoke both the mysticism and physicality of color. Older paintings here join with brand new ones, including a comprehensive group of large-format compositions painted especially for the exhibition at Kunsthaus Zürich. This group is complemented by other works from recent years, such as the magnificent four-part piece from 1995, Hermes Trismegistos. Overall, the air of an artist's book infuses the publication due to an intense collaboration between designer Trix Wetter, editor Bice Curiger, and the artist. Edited by Bice Curiger. Essays by Hartmut Böhme and Ulli Seegers. Hardcover, 9.5 x 12.5 in./220 pgs / 120 color and 20 b&w.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2340532 in Books
• Published on: 1992-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback

About the Author
Sigmar Polke was born in Oels, Germany, in 1941, and studied at the State Academy of Art in D sseldorf. He first achieved recognition in 1963 when he began working in a witty and irreverent style he termed "Capitalist Realism"--often considered a more complex and political cousin to Anglo-American Pop Art. He has continued to create innovative and aesthetically impressive works through the present day. He has been the subject of solo exhibitions at such major museums as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the MusEe de l'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Brooklyn Museum; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Walker Arts Center; and, in 1999, at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. He has been the recipient of the Venice Biennale's Golden Lion, the Erasmus award, and the Carnegie award. He lives and works in Cologne, Germany.