A. R. Penck was a German painter, sculptor, and jazz musician, celebrated for his symbolic and pictographic visual language. Working in East Germany before relocating to the West in the 1980s, he developed a distinct system of stick figures, signs, and abstract symbols that reflect human communication, social structures, and political tensions. His paintings, sculptures, and works on paper merge primitive expression with intellectual rigor, creating a universal visual code that bridges art, philosophy, and anthropology.
Selected Collections
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Tate Modern (London)
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The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (New York)
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Centre Pompidou (Paris)
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Städel Museum (Frankfurt)
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Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Düsseldorf)