Author Description

"The Michael Werner Kunsthandel is delighted to present the exhibition 'Starting from Willich. Photographs 1973-1978' which represents an unusual insight into Sigmar Polke's photographic work in the 1970's. The majority of the 80 + photographs in the show have not been on public display before. The exhibition centres around the 'Gaspelshof' in Willich, Niederrhein, where Polke lived and worked with a group of friends for several years. In fact the conditions and experiences related to this location exert an influence not only his photographic work, but on the whole of Polke's creative work of that period. For the collective the camera was a kind of amusement, but for the artist himself the crucial transformation took place in the dark room, where the negatives were subjected to a critical revision process involving the use of numerous chemicals to produce unique photographic originals. It is 'in the nature of his personal make up that the artist himself figures prominently in many of the works. [...] spontaneous masquerades and disguises create a clown-like imaginarium' (Laszlo Glozer). Willich itself becomes a focal point -- a point of departure for the artist‘s trips to various destinations such as Münster, Kassel, Sicily, Sao Paulo and Zurich. In particular, it is Zurich and its 1970's alternative scene that takes on a permanent significance for the artist"--Provided by publisher.