Peter Riek: Daß.Hab.Ich.Auch.Schon.Einmal.Gezeichnet.

Suckfüll reloaded

This volume documents illustrator Peter Riek's examination of the psychiatric patient Barbara Suckfüll, who was born in 1857. The simple farmer's wife gave birth to seven children and led a normal life until she began to perceive "telephone voices" - the beginning of years of hospitalisation. Suckfüll refused to wear institutional clothing, never wanted to leave her cell, made no contact with other patients, but developed a breathtaking world of her own in her drawings. Only a few sheets of these have been preserved in the Prinzhorn Collection in Heidelberg and formed the starting point for Peter Riek's artistic exploration of Barbara Suckfüll, which lasted over two years. The result was over 300 drawings and room installations in Reutlingen, Berlin, Ellwangen and Heidelberg. Peter Riek, born in 1960, works exclusively with drawing. His abstract, poetic works and spaces convey a peculiarly unsettling stillness and occupy an important position in contemporary drawing.

Exhibition:
Prinzhorn Collection Heidelberg, 19/3 - 3/5/2009