Gustav KlugeDruckstöcke 1983–2018

Printing from the cut woodblock plays a key role in the work of the artist Gustav Kluge (b. 1947; co-founder of the Produzentengalerie in Hamburg). Hardly any classic editions were produced from the roughly 190 original printing blocks; as a rule the artist pulled only a few unique variants. From the outset his some 900 woodblock prints display a tendency to transcend the classical boundaries of the medium and to combine with painterly elements. After the turn of the millennium, through the cutting out and collaging of forms, the prints also take on the character of relief sculpture. This deliberate extension of the possibilities of the woodblock print finds its counterpart in Gustav Kluge’s treatment of the printing blocks, which are frequently obtained from found objects and assembled pieces of wood. Over the years they reveal a development from a tool for woodblock printing into an autonomous sculptural work that can stand on its own. Printing blocks and woodblock prints together form a corpus in which graphic art, painting and sculpture enter into shifting combinations. The volume provides a concise overview of the printing blocks produced between 1983 and 2018.

Exhibitions
Horst Janssen-Museum Oldenburg, 9/12/2018–24/3/2019
Museum Lothar Fischer Neumarkt i.d. OPf., 13/4–16/6/2019
Kunstmuseum Reutlingen, 30/6–13/10/2019