Nachtvision (Nightvision) from Erste Konzentration I (First Concentration I)
A.R. Penck (Ralf Winkler)
German, 1939–2017
(1982)
A large woodcut in which A.R. Penck reduces figures, trees, and signs to scratchy, pictographic marks that read like a nocturnal map, aiming to summon archetypal symbols and raw social memory.
A stark black field is carved through with white, jagged stick figures, winglike branches and tally‑like glyphs whose uneven edges and rough textures give the image a primitive, urgent, almost hieroglyphic presence.
Penck helped revive pared‑down pictograms and sign systems in late 20th‑century art, linking graffiti, prehistoric marks, and Cold War unease into a new, influential strand of neo‑expressionist printmaking.
Medium
Woodcut from a portfolio by various artists
Dimensions
composition: 35 7/16 x 27 5/16" (90 x 69.3 cm); sheet: 39 5/16 x 30 3/4" (99.9 x 78.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Nelson Blitz, Jr.
Accession
264.1982
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
