Untitled
Sigmar Polke
German, 1941–2010
1987
A photolithograph in which Sigmar Polke manipulates photographic and chemical processes like paint to produce unpredictable stains, textures, and painterly effects that explore chance and materiality.
It reads like a fragment of a cosmos or a microscope slide—smoky blue clouds and dense flecks bloom across a pale ground, with scumbled, swirling forms and a few abrupt yellow strokes punctuating the airy field.
This work exemplifies Polke’s experiments at the intersection of painting, photography, and printmaking, opening print media to process-based, chemical chance and helping to dissolve strict medium boundaries in contemporary art.
Medium
Photolithograph
Dimensions
composition: 19 5/8 x 15 3/4" (49.9 x 40 cm); sheet: 23 5/8 x 17 11/16" (60 x 45 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Joshua Mack
Accession
646.1990
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
