Being and Essence: The Unknown A.R. Penck Book

This volume is the catalog to an exhibition to be held at theStaedtische Galerie Dresden, which will feature Penck s worksfrom a large private collection. It features nearly 500illustrations from the 1950s when Penck first began his artisticcareer to 1980 when he emigrated from East Germany. BornRalf Winkler in 1939, Penck witnessed the bombing of hishometown of Dresden in 1945. The shockwaves of thatexperience can be sensed through his dramatic and boldworks. For years Penck practiced his art underground, awayfrom the intrusive eyes of the Communist regime that weresensitive to the artist s use of symbolism and archetypes. Asthese restrictions loosened in the 1980s, Penck allowed himselfto create larger, more gestural and figurative paintings. Thisevolution, from the unspoken to the overt, becomes evidentin this volume, which includes beautifully reproduced imagesof his paintings, drawings, and prints, and provides audienceswith a fuller understanding of the underlying themes of thishighly regarded artist.Read More