signed and numbered 21/30 in the lower margin; titled and dated 1984 on a gallery label on the backing on the reverse
24 × 33.75 in (61.0 × 85.7 cm) (plate size)
Auction Estimate:$1,000 - $1,500
Sale date:June 8, 2023
Price Realized
$1,200
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Albert White Gallery, Toronto
Canadian Corporate Collection
During the 1960s, the German painter A.R. Penck developed a unique system of representation, uniting both art and language to address the sociopolitical issues he was facing in East Berlin. He did so by adopting a primitive imagery of stick figures and odd symbols reminiscent of prehistoric cave paintings.
While his visual language, known as Standart-Bilder or standart pictures, may appear easy to master, Penck brought a distinctive rhythm and flow to his works. Here he presents a dizzying array of figures and shapes in a densely packed composition. A leaping monster at the left and an elongated stick figure at the right frame the picture, with various patterns scattered throughout. One may notice upon closer inspection a tank in the upper left corner, evocating perhaps the destruction of Dresden that Penck would have witnessed as a child. Two figures in black robes with crosses, positioned next to a suspended human face, can also be found amidst a sea of black dots and curved lines.
As a Neo-Expressionist, Penck adopted a primitivist style by reducing form to its very essence in order to express the sense of inner turmoil and alienation that he, along with other dissidents, felt during these turbulent times.
