A.R. Penck, pseudonym of Ralf Winkler, is born in Dresden (Germany) in 1939. In his early teens he takes painting and drawing lessons with Jürgen Böttcher. In 1953 – Dresden is now part of the Eastern Bloc – he joins with Böttcher to form the artists’ group Erste Phalanx Nedserd (‘Dresden’ spelled backwards). The group seeks to make art without compromise. They are denied membership of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR, and therefore have to earn a living as factory workers or craftsmen.
In 1956 and later, Penck makes unsuccessful attempts to be admitted to art academies of Dresden and East Berlin. From 1969, he has increasing problems with the Ministry of State Security of the GDR. In 1976, he starts campaigning for the abolition of the inner German border, together with the West German painter Jörg Immendorff. His candidacy for a membership of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR is rejected. In 1977, he has some of his paintings confiscated, and in 1979, several of his works and records are destroyed during a break-in into his studio.
In this period, Penck starts to use stick figures (‘Strichmännchen’) and graphic icons that seem reminiscent of cave paintings, Asian calligraphy and graffiti art in his work.
In 1980, he is banned from the GDR, and settles near Cologne (West Germany). He gains worldwide fame for his paintings, is included in many important shows, both in London and New York City, and receives several art prizes. In 1983, he moves to London. In 1988, he is appointed professor of painting at the Academy of Arts in Düsseldorf.
He dies in Zürich, at the age of 77.
