Sigmar Polke

Sigmar Polke: History of Everything showcases Polke’s work over the last six years. The exhibition was initiated by the Dallas Museum of Art, and organised in close collaboration with the artist. Polke made several new works in response to the original Dallas venue, such as paintings of shooting arcades and gun sellers which refer to the renowned gun culture of the American West. Other works make references to the role of America in global politics, perhaps reflecting that the current leader of the world’s dominant superpower, George Bush, is himself from Texas. Notions of perception and the authenticity of images, and the boundaries between abstraction and figuration are also explored throughout the exhibition.

The presentation at Tate Modern also includes a significant number of works made specifically for London. These range from new examples of his ‘Machine Painting’ technique, to recent paintings using imagery from newspapers and magazines. Polke’s characteristically ironic sense of humour is evident in two large paintings that show images of nudist colonies, where naked men and women cavort in the countryside. These works seem to be a witty reflection upon Britain’s ambivalent attitude to sex.

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/polke/default.htm

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Museum Frieder Burda in Baden-Baden, Germany is showing a large retrospective of German artist Sigmar Polke. Sigmar Polke (born 1941) is one of the most important artists of postwar Germany. The huge exhibition at the Frieder Burda Museum in Baden-Baden combines the three major Sigmar Polke collections of Frieder Burda, Josef Froehlich and Reiner Speck. With its 170 paintings, "Polke - a retrospective. The collections of Frieder Burda, Josef Froehlich, Reiner Speck" is one of the most comprehensive retrospectives that has been organized for many years. Polke -- a retrospective: the collections Frieder Burda, Josef Froehlich, Reiner Speck". Museum Frieder Burda, February 3, 2007 to May 13, 2007. Impressions from the opening, February 2, 2006.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_7ptYYbvB8