Sigmar Polke

Retrospective exhibition at Pallazzo Grassi of work by Sigmar Polke.

I had been to the Tate Modern show a few years ago and not really liked Polke but this show gave the pictures a bit more room to breathe and I understand them better and really liked some of them. I’m not sure I really appreciated the skill in the dot pictures before and that he painted on each dot or sometimes the space between the dots to create a pale one, creating an image purely from these dots. The most effective ones here were the Hermes Trismegistos series.

I loved some later works created by putting powdered pigment on a canvas then shaking them and adding water. They became a homage to pigment with wonderful organic shapes in the paint. There was a great film at the start showing Polke working on one of these works although as my friend pointed out we were literally watching a film of paint drying!

There were also three films Polke made while working on the German Pavilion at the 1986 Biennale shown simultaneously as an installation and a fun large magic lantern style installation telling a dogs version of the Rake’s Progress.

The building itself, with a courtyard in the middle, set up some lovely vistas across to pictures giving you a long view as well as close which really showed off the dot pictures well.

Closes 6 November 2016

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