A. R. PENCK | Una Giornata ad Ansedonia

Galleria Cleto Polcina, Rome
Mario Valentino, Naples
Thence by descend to the present owner  

Rome, Galleria Cleto Polcina, Penck Incontra Roma, October - November 1990, n.p., illustrated in colour

Colour: The colours in the cataogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is brighter and more vibrant in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Very close inspection reveals some light dust fibres which have adhered to some of the recesses in the impasto peaks. Further very close inspection reveals a tiny speck of loss to the upper right quadrant; approximately 15 cm from the upper edge, and 55 from the right edge, and a second, pinprick sized speck of loss towards the lower edge; approximately 95 cm from the left edge. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Executed in 1990, the same year as Germany’s reunification after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Una Giornata ad Ansedonia, is a primary example of A. R. Penck’s complex world of ancient symbols and systems. Exiled from East Germany in 1980 and expatriated to the West, the present was executed at a time when Penck re-examined his pictorial language and when his feeling of isolation was transformed into a strong sense of dislocation. The reduction of means and scarce use of paint in the East was now followed by an extravagant use of acrylic and oil, which is perfectly exemplified in the opulent, rich layers of paint in the present work. Cut off from the developments happening in the Western world and away from fellow abstract painters such as Jackson Pollock and Jean Dubuffet, Penck had created his own language and imagery; a world dominated by systems. Creating his ‘Standart’ language in 1965, Penck thought to construct a new art system that would be understood by all viewers and at the same time was not based on art theory, but rather derived from scientific principles. “I still see my work as pictorial research. The main experiment: the viewing of a picture by the viewer.” (A. R. Penck cited in: Ingrid Peiffer and Max Hollein, Eds., A.R. Penck Retrospektive, Dusseldorf 2007, p. 29). Obsessed by advancements in theoretical physics and mathematics, Penck became preoccupied with using numbers and sequences in his works, which can be seen on the left hand side of the present work. As explained by Ingrid Pfeiffer: "Penck sought to achieve two aims: first, to introduce the logical and the systematic into the realm of art, which had hitherto been reserved for emotion and intuition, and, second, to create works that would communicate with the viewer... to create new (art) systems, a "language," something that was objectifiable and, in a democratic sense, readable and understandable to all viewers" (Ibid., p. 36). However, although the characters of the present painting seem engaged in a specific narrative, it is nevertheless an ambiguous picture that traverses figuration and abstraction to afford an array of subjective responses. While implying meaning, Penck's work is never didactic or deterministic, and although allegorical content is possible, his art invites a wide spectrum of interpretation.

Penck’s interest in the primitive does not represent a return to the past, but rather a recovery of the past. His paintings gave him a way of codifying and communicating both experiences and ideological theories, confronting his turbulent past. Today mentioned along fellow Neo-Expressionists like Sigmar Polke and Anselm Kiefer, A. R. Penck has become known for his balance between pictorial figuration and abstraction while not following anyone’s aesthetic ideal.