Sigmar Polke Plakate

The Polke posters in the Ciesilski Collection

Axel Ciesielski is an enthusiastic collector of Sigmar Polke's works and is probably the only person in the world who can call all of the artist's editions his own. They are currently on show at the Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Siegen and from spring 2014 at les Abattoirs in Toulouse. Axel Ciesielski's intensive collecting activity is naturally based on a well-founded collection of numerous drawings and works on canvas, including early ones, but has always also included the posters for the exhibitions. Accordingly, this volume is the first to reproduce all the posters published to date for exhibitions of works by Sigmar Polke - posters that are almost without exception characterised by an ironic look that refers to the anarchic wit and formally innovative world of work of this extraordinary artist. But the special thing about this collection of posters, writes Claus von der Osten, editor of the catalogue raisonné of the editions, in his introductory text, is above all that the collector has secured all the posters in impeccable quality that were included in the catalogue raisonné of the editions as artist posters by the artist himself. In addition, the volume is also a journey through time through the art world since the 1960s. When leafing through the pages, it quickly becomes clear where and by whom Polke's beginnings were accompanied and which presentations took place later on, as well as which major institutional (retrospective) exhibitions promoted and reflected the artist's worldwide fame. The volume is therefore a who's who of contemporary art, whether it is presented by galleries, art associations or museums of international renown. Not only familiar but also enigmatic motifs from the artist's oeuvre were and are used, making this volume a cross-section of the various facets of his work.