Polke, Sigmar: Untitled (2005)

Sigmar Polke – together with Gerhard Richter – developed his painting of “capitalist realism”, a politically critical, albeit ironic version of pop art in the early 1960s, after studying glass painting in Berlin. His art is characterized by constant experimentation, a strange but artistically brave restlessness, both in terms of technique (e.g. textile-based works) and sources of inspiration (mass culture, art historical antecedents). His work Untitled from 2005 goes back to his earlier Goya paraphrases (the skull on a spear, or pointed spear), and fits into his 2005–2007 Axiel Age series, which included works on the theme of circus (a clown, an elephant balancing on one leg). Against a background reminiscent of a circus tarpaulin that promotes jugglery, a glittering sequined, suspended bird juggles between passing (skull) and life (drumming rabbit). From the humorous banality, Polke evokes the eternal theme that defines human life, the dichotomy of life and death.

Kriszta Dékei