Rosemarie Trockel – Für Freunde und Förderer IV and V

Rosemarie Trockel’s Für Freunde und Förderer IV and V (2004) is a set of two signed photogravures on wove paper that exemplifies her restrained and conceptually rigorous approach to abstraction. Each fine art print presents a softly modulated square field of color, one in luminous orange, the other in deep violet, rendered with subtle tonal shifts and atmospheric depth.

Minimal in composition yet materially rich, the artworks highlight the velvety surface and fine grain characteristic of photogravure. Through reduction and repetition, Trockel intensifies perception, allowing color, texture, and process to become the primary carriers of meaning.

Each sheet measures 52.5 × 51 cm. The edition size is undisclosed; both prints are hand-signed in pencil.

Rosemarie Trockel (born 1952, Schwerte, Germany) is one of the most influential figures in contemporary art, internationally recognized for her conceptually rigorous and materially diverse practice. Working across painting, printmaking, sculpture, video, ceramics, and installation, Trockel has consistently challenged artistic hierarchies, gender roles, and cultural conventions since the 1980s.

She gained prominence with her groundbreaking "knitted paintings," produced using industrial knitting machines. By elevating wool, a material historically associated with domestic female labor, into the realm of high art, Trockel subverted the male-dominated art discourse of the time. These works remain central to her legacy, exemplifying her critical engagement with authorship, craft, and the politics of representation.

Beyond textiles, Trockel's artworks explore identity, systems of power, social behavior, and the fragility of cultural constructs. Her sculptures, ceramics, and installations often combine intellectual precision with subtle irony, inviting viewers to reconsider the boundaries between art and everyday life.

Printmaking plays an important role in her oeuvre. Her limited edition prints, including screenprints, etchings, and mixed media works, distill her conceptual concerns into concentrated visual statements. These prints are highly sought after by collectors of contemporary art, offering access to her complex ideas in collectible form.

Trockel has been the subject of major international exhibitions at institutions such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the New Museum, the Serpentine Gallery, Museum Ludwig, MAXXI, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Pinacoteca Agnelli, and Moderna Museet. In 1999, she became the first female artist to represent Germany at the Venice Biennale, cementing her position as a pivotal voice in contemporary art history.