Since the early 70's, Günther Förg (1952-2013) has been producing an extensive body of work, including experiments on abstraction and monochrome painting, against the general trend of figurative painting predominant in Germany in the 80's. Wall paintings, bronze sculptures, large format photographs, portraits or architectural views, as well as drawings and graphics witness the diversity of his approach. Universal concepts of form, mass, proportion, rhythm and structure constitute a common thread in his work. More recently, Günther Förg surprised with brighter and more gestural paintings, resulting from an intuitive approach to colour and composition, renewing again his artistic practice.
"Art, artists, architecture, landscapes, films and literature are all constant sources of inspiration for Günther Förg, and the notion that art is generally more likely to be derived from other art than from nature comes through in his various work cycles and series as well. His spontaneity of conception and dynamic gesture is contrasted with complex references and their associated meanings. Förg is concerned with self-reflecting experience and self-analysis in painting. By referring to the most diverse of artists from widely varying eras and styles of the 20th century, he brings out individual positions that were arguably of unparalleled relevance to artistic practice in subsequent decades, while at the same time he links periods and ideologies that were often mutually contradictory."
Bernd Reiss, Günther Förg: Paintings, Walls, and Photographs in Günther Förg 1987-2011, Galerie Max Hetzler and Holzwarth Publications, 2012
