Sigmar Polke exhibited at the German Pavilion for the 1986 Venice Biennale, where he won the Golden Lion for his contribution entitled Athanor. Central works were the Dürerschleifen (Dürer Loops), which Polke presented in the side wings of the pavilion. These works and their preliminary photographic studies form the focus of an evening featuring a guided tour, lecture, and panel discussion, which address the works’ materialities and levels of meaning.
Polke Loops
Polke Loops
Made of graphite dust, resin, and silver oxide, the Dürerschleifen were conceived as a homage to Albrecht Dürer—the German-speaking world’s most famous traveler to Venice when it comes to art history. A guided tour with Anna Polke and Dr Verena Hein will examine these outstanding works from the Modern Art Collection. In the evening lecture in the Ernst von Siemens Auditorium, Prof. Dr. Dietmar Rübel will situate Athanor and the Loop paintings in the context of the history and theory of materiality. In his talk, materiality is understood as a complex structure of everyday life, technology, science, and art that provokes other processes of reflection. Afterwards, restorers and curators will discuss materiality in Sigmar Polke’s work. Here, too, the focus will be on the experiments for the 1986 Venice Biennale: Dr Franziska Kunze, for example, will focus on the photographic works, while Michael Trier will focus on the pigments and painting materials used in the pavilion. The event will be moderated by Dr Verena Hein.
Polke Loops
Talk, Guided Tour, 30 April 2026, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich