A.R. Penck Retrospective at Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris

The Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris hosted a retrospective of German painter and sculptor A.R. Penck from February 14 to May 11, 2008. The exhibition covered Penck's career from the 1960s onward, featuring his iconic stick-figure paintings and symbolic imagery that addressed Cold War politics and human condition. Penck, born Ralf Winkler in Dresden in 1939, was a key figure in neo-expressionism and the Neue Wilde movement. The show included works from his early 'Standards' series, his 'Systembilder' (system pictures), and later large-scale canvases. Penck fled East Germany in 1980 and settled in West Germany, where his work gained international recognition. The retrospective was curated by Suzanne Pagé and organized by the museum's team. It highlighted Penck's use of pictographic signs, graffiti-like marks, and primal symbols to critique societal structures and totalitarianism. The exhibition also featured sculptures and drawings, offering a comprehensive view of his output. Penck died in 2017 at age 77.