1941 Oels, Lower Silesia – 2010 Cologne

Sigmar Polke is regarded as one of the most important post war German artists. His work is regarded as Capital Realism, Postmodern Realism and German Pop Art. In 1945 he fled with his family to Thüringen and in 1953 from the GDR to West Germany. He studied until 1967 at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf under Joseph Beuys amongst others. Together with Gerhard Richter, Manfred Kuttner und Konrad Lueg he founded Capitalist Realism as a reaction to Social Realism in the eastern block at that time. He taught for a lengthy period at the School for Visual Art in Hamburg and from 1978 he lived in Cologne. Polke took part in numerous high profile exhibitions such as the documenta in Kassel and the Venice Biennale on several occasions. He received several awards during his lifetime and is represented in the most important museums and collections worldwide.