A.R. Penck (1939–2017) - ohne Titel

This rare mezzotint without a title was created between 1978 and 1980 in the Dresden studio of A. R. Penck at Gostritzer Straße 92, and bears the unmistakable handwriting of one of the most important German artists of the post-war avant-garde. Signed bottom right with the artist’s name “a. r. penck,” and bottom left marked as an artist’s proof with “e.a.” (épreuve d'artiste). Edition: no edition stated.

The work is framed under Plexiglas with 100% UV protection and mounted behind a mat.

This extraordinary and impressive composition presents itself as a work of special aura and collector’s appeal. In the tense sequence of the figures, a visual narrative of great intensity unfolds: the monumental portrait of a woman on the left opens a space of subtle intimacy with its mysterious gesture, while the central figure in front of the hazy figure wearing a hat develops an almost iconic presence. On the right, the scene converges into a dynamically entwined group of figures, whose reduced, powerful lines recall Penck’s expressive and archaic pictorial world and give the work a sovereign, museum-like poise. It is a picture that is not only to be looked at but to be collected.

The print was made by the artists’ collective Obergrabenpresse, of which Penck was a founding member in 1978. This Dresden workshop was far more than a place of technical reproduction: it was an independent resonance space for nonconformist art, a protected space of artistic freedom within the GDR, and at the same time a significant chapter of East German printmaking.

As a free artists’ group, print workshop, gallery, and publisher, the Obergrabenpresse, founded in 1978 by Eberhard Göschel, Peter Herrmann, A. R. Penck, Jochen Lorenz, and Bernhard Theilmann, embodied a rare fusion of artistic autonomy, artisanal excellence, and historical relevance. This provenance lends the etching a special depth: it is not only a work from Penck’s Dresden phase but also a striking testament to an extraordinary artistic counterpublicsphere.