Hermann Glöckner
Gefaltete Streifen in Weiß und Gelb auf Schwarz
1933
Panel. Fine Japan paper and varnish on black ground, on card 35 x 24.9 cm Monogrammed and dated 'G XXXIII' (embossed) and negative number '145/6c' in white. - The varnished surface is somewhat irregular and slightly yellowed.
The early panel piece here is from 1933, the year Rudolf Mayer has identified as that in which Hermann Glöckner achieved the discovery of the form for this central group of works: the panel piece had “crystallised” at this time (cf. Christian Dittrich/Rudolf Mayer/Werner Schmidt, Hermann Glöckner. Die Tafeln 1919-1985, Monographie und Werkverzeichnis, Dresden/Stuttgart 1992, p. 39).
The central element in Glöckner's panel pieces lies in their variation of different collage techniques, which the artist carried out in combination with drawing techniques. Working in an extremely experimental manner, he combined cardboard, newsprint, enamel paints and wax - often, as in the case of our panel, utilising narrow strips of Japan paper, which are folded and mounted on the panel. In this context, Glöckner's experimentalism in terms of technique and medium sometimes led his panels to become subject to very individual processes of ageing and alteration. Between construction and intuition, the artist thus achieved the extremely vibrant appearance of the surfaces of these three-dimensional objects, and he often also incorporated their reverse sides into the composition - in this case, with his emblematic signum “G”.
Glöckner's panels are radical in their specific form and semantics: “The relationship of Glöckner's panels to the artistic world of the drawing as the medium of intimacy, communication among insiders and also of meditation and pure artistic intention also marks the intellectual position of the panel piece in his time. It is a result of solitude and depth, tranquillity and rigour, without any concern for grandeur and effect” (op cit., p. 32).
It is a significant work of the artist, who for a long time stood in the shadow of art history. The Pinkaothek der Moderne in Munich is dedicating a large exhibition to the exceptional artist in 2019/2020.
Catalogue Raisonné
Dittrich/Mayer/Schmidt 63
Provenance
Renate Glück Collection, Dresden (acquired from the artist in 1975, Renate Glück was the sister-in-law of Will Grohmann, Dresden), estate