A.R. PENCK AND SPENCER SWEENEY
February 3 – 23 2023
Ralf Winkler, alias A.R. Penck, was born in Dresden, Germany, in 1939. He studied drawing and painting with Jürgen Böttcher in his early teens. After unsuccessfully applying to the art academies in Dresden and Berlin in the former GDR, Penck resolved to independently pursue art. He continued to develop his work as a self-taught painter, sculptor and musician, forming friendships that informed his practice, such as with the artist Georg Baselitz, and the gallerist Michael Werner. Working under state security surveillance, he used several aliases, settling on A.R. Penck in 1968 (after the influential German geographer Albrecht Penck, a scholar on the Ice Age). Penck subsequently smuggled his work into West Germany the following year for his first solo exhibition, organized by Michael Werner in Cologne, Germany. In 1980 Penck requested permission to leave East Germany, was stripped of his nationality and settled in Cologne. In 1989 he was appointed professor for painting at the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf, Germany. A.R. Penck was the recipient of numerous art prizes and major museum exhibitions and participated four times in the Documenta in Kassel, Germany, as well as the Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy.
Penck’s recent solo and group exhibitions include "Zwölf herausragende historische Bilder" at Galerie Michael Werner in Cologne, Germany (2022); "Young & Wild? Art in 1980s Germany" at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, United Kingdom (2022); Museum Jorn in Silkeborg, Denmarlk (2022); White Cube in London, United Kingdom (2022); "A.R. Penck – Works on Canvas" at Achenbach Hagemeier in Düsseldorf, Germany (2022); Galerie Knoell in Basel, Switzerland (2021); Museo d’Arte di Mendrisio in Mendrisio, Switzerland (2019); "The Eighties" at David Nolan Gallery in New York, New York (2019); "Four Rooms" at Blum & Poe in New York, New York (2018); and "Animal Farm" at The Brant Foundation in Greenwich, Connecticut (2017).
A.R. Penck died in Zürich, Switzerland in 2017.
Spencer Sweeney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1973. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia.
Sweeney’s recent solo and group exhibitions include "Perfect" at The Brant Foundation in Greenwich, Connecticut (2022); "Queue" at Gagosian, Davies Street in London, United Kingdom (2021); "Different Strokes" at Almine Rech in London, United Kingdom (2021); Tennis Elbow at The Journal Gallery in New York, New York (2020); "Bustes de Femmes: Paris 10th Anniversary" at Gagosian in Paris, France (2020); "Hommage à Rainer Werner Fassbinder" at Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, Germany (2020); "Everything is Personal" at TRAMPS in New York, New York (2020); "Faces" at Gagosian GalleryPlatform LA Online (2020); "Smalls" at Gagosian in Paris, France (2019); "The Pastels" at The Modern Institute in Glasgow, Scotland (2019); "Spencer Sweeney: Self-Portraits" at Gagosian in New York, New York (2018); and "Viva Las Vegas" at Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, Germany (2017).
Spencer Sweeney lives and works in New York, New York.
Ralf Winkler, alias A.R. Penck, was born in Dresden, Germany, in 1939. He studied drawing and painting with Jürgen Böttcher in his early teens. After unsuccessfully applying to the art academies in Dresden and Berlin in the former GDR, Penck resolved to independently pursue art. He continued to develop his work as a self-taught painter, sculptor and musician, forming friendships that informed his practice, such as with the artist Georg Baselitz, and the gallerist Michael Werner. Working under state security surveillance, he used several aliases, settling on A.R. Penck in 1968 (after the influential German geographer Albrecht Penck, a scholar on the Ice Age). Penck subsequently smuggled his work into West Germany the following year for his first solo exhibition, organized by Michael Werner in Cologne, Germany. In 1980 Penck requested permission to leave East Germany, was stripped of his nationality and settled in Cologne. In 1989 he was appointed professor for painting at the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf, Germany. A.R. Penck was the recipient of numerous art prizes and major museum exhibitions and participated four times in the Documenta in Kassel, Germany, as well as the Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy.
Penck’s recent solo and group exhibitions include "Zwölf herausragende historische Bilder" at Galerie Michael Werner in Cologne, Germany (2022); "Young & Wild? Art in 1980s Germany" at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, United Kingdom (2022); Museum Jorn in Silkeborg, Denmarlk (2022); White Cube in London, United Kingdom (2022); "A.R. Penck – Works on Canvas" at Achenbach Hagemeier in Düsseldorf, Germany (2022); Galerie Knoell in Basel, Switzerland (2021); Museo d’Arte di Mendrisio in Mendrisio, Switzerland (2019); "The Eighties" at David Nolan Gallery in New York, New York (2019); "Four Rooms" at Blum & Poe in New York, New York (2018); and "Animal Farm" at The Brant Foundation in Greenwich, Connecticut (2017).
A.R. Penck died in Zürich, Switzerland in 2017.
Spencer Sweeney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1973. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia.
Sweeney’s recent solo and group exhibitions include "Perfect" at The Brant Foundation in Greenwich, Connecticut (2022); "Queue" at Gagosian, Davies Street in London, United Kingdom (2021); "Different Strokes" at Almine Rech in London, United Kingdom (2021); Tennis Elbow at The Journal Gallery in New York, New York (2020); "Bustes de Femmes: Paris 10th Anniversary" at Gagosian in Paris, France (2020); "Hommage à Rainer Werner Fassbinder" at Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, Germany (2020); "Everything is Personal" at TRAMPS in New York, New York (2020); "Faces" at Gagosian GalleryPlatform LA Online (2020); "Smalls" at Gagosian in Paris, France (2019); "The Pastels" at The Modern Institute in Glasgow, Scotland (2019); "Spencer Sweeney: Self-Portraits" at Gagosian in New York, New York (2018); and "Viva Las Vegas" at Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, Germany (2017).
Spencer Sweeney lives and works in New York, New York.