Günther Förg *
(Füssen 1952–2013 Freiburg im Breisgau)
Horizont (Einzelbild) – Horizon (unique picture), 1988, signed, dated, titled and inscribed on the reverse Förg 88, acrylic on canvas, 64.5 x 49.5 cm, in artist’s frame (70x 54.5 x 3 cm)
This work is recorded in the Archiv Günther Förg under WVF.88. B.0454.
Provenance:
Anders Tornberg Galerie, Lund
Sale, Stockholms Auktionsverk, November 2, 2007, lot 1256
Private Collection, Marseille
Private Collection, Germany
Sale, Piasa, Paris, 19 October 2021, lot 51
Private Collection, Germany (acquired at the above sale)
What distinguishes this work from 1988 is not only its original artist’s frame, which forms an integral part of the work alongside the painting itself, but also the fact that it was given a specifically assigned title (despite the artist being known for leaving many of his paintings untitled) as well as the additional designation ‘Einzelbild’ (‘one-off painting’), unequivocally identifying it as a unique work. In that sense, the painting Horizont is a particularly special work.
The artist deliberately eschews all narrative elements. Instead, he seeks to transform painterly gestures into images that the viewer must accept as a given reality: ‘Standing before Günther Förg’s works, the viewer is immediately struck, at first glance, by the gratifying sense of having already reached the destination. What the artist allows us to see may be little, but it can neither be overlooked nor denied’
(Johannes Gachnang, in: Günther Förg, exh. cat., Galerie Fahnemann, Berlin, 1994/95).
Specialist: Dr. Petra Maria Schäpers
(Füssen 1952–2013 Freiburg im Breisgau)
Horizont (Einzelbild) – Horizon (unique picture), 1988, signed, dated, titled and inscribed on the reverse Förg 88, acrylic on canvas, 64.5 x 49.5 cm, in artist’s frame (70x 54.5 x 3 cm)
This work is recorded in the Archiv Günther Förg under WVF.88. B.0454.
Provenance:
Anders Tornberg Galerie, Lund
Sale, Stockholms Auktionsverk, November 2, 2007, lot 1256
Private Collection, Marseille
Private Collection, Germany
Sale, Piasa, Paris, 19 October 2021, lot 51
Private Collection, Germany (acquired at the above sale)
What distinguishes this work from 1988 is not only its original artist’s frame, which forms an integral part of the work alongside the painting itself, but also the fact that it was given a specifically assigned title (despite the artist being known for leaving many of his paintings untitled) as well as the additional designation ‘Einzelbild’ (‘one-off painting’), unequivocally identifying it as a unique work. In that sense, the painting Horizont is a particularly special work.
The artist deliberately eschews all narrative elements. Instead, he seeks to transform painterly gestures into images that the viewer must accept as a given reality: ‘Standing before Günther Förg’s works, the viewer is immediately struck, at first glance, by the gratifying sense of having already reached the destination. What the artist allows us to see may be little, but it can neither be overlooked nor denied’
(Johannes Gachnang, in: Günther Förg, exh. cat., Galerie Fahnemann, Berlin, 1994/95).
Specialist: Dr. Petra Maria Schäpers
