In conjunction with the artist, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is preparing a catalogue raisonné of the works of Günther Uecker.
Born in Wendorf (Mecklenburg), Germany, in 1930, Günther Uecker lives and works in Düsseldorf and is one of the most important international artists of the postwar period. His oeuvre comprises more than 5,000 works, including paintings, sculptures, watercolors, prints, installations, films, actions, and stage designs, as well as numerous works in the public space. The catalogue raisonné will for the first time bring together all of Günther Uecker’s works and illuminate his entire artistic development. Each work will be individually documented together with its provenance as well as a list of the publications and exhibitions in which it has appeared. The catalogue raisonné will provide a comprehensive overview of the artist’s wide-ranging body of work and serve as a basis for future research.
For 60 years, Günther Uecker has been a keen and active observer of cultural, social, and political events. He produced his first works in the mid-1950s, establishing key themes and subjects that he would later go on to develop over the course of his career and that run throughout his entire oeuvre: structure, the articulation of space, the analysis of light and shadow, and elements connected with the environment. Using nails, paper, wood, fabric, stone, sand, earth, ashes, and other materials, Uecker creates probing and penetrating works, many of them eminently political, which deal with human beings, their vulnerability, and their values.
Time and again, Uecker has drawn fresh inspiration for his work from his travels throughout the world. His interest in exploring human action also speaks clearly from his engagement with language and writing. In poems, manifestos, and critical texts, the artist has repeatedly reflected on his works and his view of the world. The catalogue raisonné will explore his works in an art-historical framework from a contemporary perspective, as well as placing them in a transcultural context.
The catalogue raisonné is forthcoming in early 2019; it is initiated by the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and the Kulturstiftung Franz-Dieter und Michaela Kaldewei, which is funding this important project.
The editors warmly invite all private collectors, museums, galleries, and auction houses who are in possession of works by Günther Uecker and with whom they are not yet in contact to lend their support to the project and get in touch with them. Information on the provenance of the works or regarding forgeries is also welcome. All information will be treated with the utmost discretion and strictest confidentiality.
Contact:
Stiftung Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen
Dr. Florence Thurmes, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
T +49 (0)211 8381 207 / F +49 (0)211 8381 201 / wvz.uecker [at] kunstsammlung.de
