Artist 18: Sigmar Polke

Sigmar Polke was a German painter, born in 1941. He took up an apprenticeship in Dusseldorf and then at age 20 went to the Arts Academy there. During his studies at the academy, there were many changes in Germany being made because of World War II, and so he was in the middle of the huge shift in culture, society and the arts in Germany. In 1963, Polke founded his very own artistic movement, Capitalistic-Realism.

His own style is evident in his works, which he uses different media, such as gouaches, watercolors, drawings, etc. In the work pictured below, "Treehouse," it is a simple ink drawing of a treehouse, nice detail, something one would assume to see as an illustration in a book maybe. What makes this art work stand out is obvious. Maybe that is an understatement. Polke uses a fantastic wash of 3 different colors to make this painting an otherworldly experience, as compared to the typical, everyday, dull treehouse it could have been. Now, I don't want to sound like a druggie when I say this, but this looks trippy. Wait, I take that back, it looks like an "altered state of mind experience" really. The execution of the wash is done in a fantastic way as well, making this piece look very elegant. Many of his subjects emphasized the social and cultural changes in Germany, enhanced by his own coloring and creative styles.