Aquatint in colors on Zerkall laid paper (watermark)
Germany, 1994
A.R. Penck (b. 1939) - German painter and graphic artist
Signed lower right in pencil ‘ar. penck’
Inscribed lower left in pencil ‘e.d.’
Plate: 69.5 x 89.5 cm
Very good condition
An impressive work in bold colors, showing Penck's typical use of forms; the auction record for a print by the artist is set at €15,000

The aquatint in colors ‘Liebesgeflüster ‘ (= sweet nothings) from 1994 depicts a composition in the typical style of the artist A. R. Penck with abstract shapes and figures in red and yellow on black ground. Since the 1970s Penck uses his own, almost calligraphic formal language, which reminds on one side of early cave paintings and on the other side of modern graffiti tags. In using simple, archaic characters and forms the artist aims to create works that are easily accessible.



The lithograph is in pencil signed lower right ‘ar. penck’ and inscribed lower left ‘e.d.’. The sheet is mounted under a mat. The sheet is in very good condition. The black wooden frame shows normal traces of wear, like color abrasion. The plate measures 69.5 x 89.5 cm, the sheet is 76 x 106.9 cm in size and the total dimensions, including the frame, are 96.7 x 116.7 cm.



A. R. Penck (b. 1939)

Born in Dresden in 1939 as Ralf Winkler, the painter and sculptor adopted several pseudonyms. ‘A. R. Penck’ was eventually the name that stuck and that he is now famous for. He started taking drawing lessons by Strawalde and in the early 1950s completed an apprenticeship as an advertising artist. As off 1956 he applied a total number of four times to the Academy of Arts in Dresden as well as the Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in East Berlin, every time unsuccessful. In 1966 he accepted the pseudonym ‘A. R. Penck’, as off 1973 he also signed his works with ‘Mike Hammer’, ‘T. M.’ or ‘Y.’. Whilst his work was under various restrictions in the German Democratic Republic, he received the Wilhelm-Grohmann Award from the Academy of Arts in West Berlin in 1975. In 1976 he made the acquaintance of the artist Jörg Immendorff with whom he collaborated for a few years to come. In the August of 1980 Penck moved to West Germany. Three years later he moved to London and in 1988 he moved to Düsseldorf for a job as a professor at the Academy of Arts teaching painting classes. After his retirement in 2003, he moved to Dublin where he lives and works today. (tm)

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