Verletztes Feld

The exhibition presents Günther Uecker’s 1981 painting Verletztes Feld, a dense nail relief that is cleft open with an axe — the earliest known occurrence of this gesture in his work. It is shown alongside a series of 22 painted photographs, taken by Rolf Schröter in Uecker’s studio and individually overpainted or perforated by Uecker to retrace the making of the painting; the photographs are usually housed in a wooden case whose lid is a smaller nail relief. The painting’s surface is formed by nails that cast shifting shadows as light moves, and Uecker applied white paint with his hands, creating vortices and spirals on the canvas.