Photography Paintings
Polaroids in 50 x 60 cm format are rare. In fact, there are just two cameras in the world capable of producing such images and film is practically non-existent. That these pictures might be used artistically is therefore even more remarkable. The giant Polaroid images of women taken by Werner Pawlok in the early 90s were transferred onto Fabriano cotton paper. What sets them apart is their surface, which has been deliberately torn but somehow without damaging the integrity of the pictures. Unique products of their time, the subtle aura they emit is not only reminiscent of some of the great works in art history, but is also a testament to modern stylistic techniques.
Stephan Reisner
Werner Pawlok in search of the old Havanna
The patina of an individual wall appears like an abstract painting, the arrangement of colours seemingly left to chance. White, green, brown, and ochre tones mix together in a unique combination. The shine of the past and the irreversible decay of the present stand side by side in Werner Pawlok’s photographs of Havanna, revealing the morbid charm of the old Caribbean metropolis. The palaces of the old sugar aristocracy reveal their weathered faces with dignity. And, though there are no people in the scenery of Pawlok’s images, one senses the sheer vitality of the Habaneros. The bittersweet aftertaste of a sunken city, decay having long since set in, is almost palpable.
Werner Pawlok’s Cuba-expired series display’s the photographer’s unique artistic background. Born in Stuttgart in 1953, Pawlok opened his first atelier in 1977 as a self-taught artist, having also spent time working in New York. He became famous through his black and white polaroid portraits of writers for his Photography Paintings, images that deliberately trod the middle ground between painting and photography. His polaroid transfers, as he called them, were created by copying large format polaroids onto backing paper or canvas, the classic bases for painting.
Through these images, his celebrity and fashion photography and, above all, his 50x60 polaroids, Pawlok developed his own unique style over a number of decades. His works enjoy worldwide recognition, featuring in countless international exhibitions alongside artists such as Warhol, Richter, Mapplethorpe and Polke.
| 1953 | Born in Stuttgart, Germany |
| 1977-78 | Lecturer at Academy of Arts, Stuttgart, Berlin |
| 1980 | Establisher of the first gallery for photography in south Germany |
| 1988-89 | First Studio in New York, USA |
| Lives and works in Stuttgart, Germany |
Solo Exhibitions (Selection)
| 2012 | ARTFLOW, Kunsthalle Messmer, Riegel am Kaiserstuhl, Germany |
| 2010 | Moving cities, G3 Gallery, Hamburg, Germany |
| 2009 | Face the time, Galerie Andreas Baumgartl, Munich, Germany |
| 2009 | Werkschau / Retrospektive, Galerie Andreas Baumgartl, Munich, Germany |
| 2008 | Cuba – expired, Gallery Breuer+Kansky, Munich, Germany |
| 2007 | Views - faces of literature, Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany |
| 2005 | Private Views, Bankhaus Ellwanger & Geiger, Stuttgart, Germany |
| 1996 | Transfers, Gallery Raab Boukamel, London, UK |
| 1996 | Transfers, Contemporary Art Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland |
| 1993 | Stars & Paints, Musée de l'Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 1992 | Transfers, Musée de l´Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 1991 | Photography Paintings, Fotografie Forum International, Frankfurt, Germany |
| 2011 | Episode 1, Caratart Kunstverein, Weil am Rhein, Germany |
| 2011 | Light my fire, Nimbus Group Mock-up, Stuttgart, Germany |
| 2011 | Psychadelic Record Sleeves, Duncan Smith Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany |
| 2010 | Dezemberschau, Galerie AK 1 Stuttgart, Germany |
| 2009 | Australia's Bushfire Exhibition, McCulloch Gallery, Melbourne, Australien |
| 2008 | The big picture I + II, Oliver Gordon Gallery, Toronto, Kanada |
| 2006 | Accrochage, Gallery Andreas Baumgartl, Munich, Germany |
| 2003 | Photography in Advertising, Design Center, Malmö, Schweden |
| 2000 | Images Beyond the naked eye, Museo, Den Haag, Niederlande |
| 1998 | Augenlust with Mapplethorpe, Picasso, Warhol, Cocteau, Kunsthaus Hannover, Germany |
| 1993 | Milk Glas, Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Design, Chicago, USA |
| 1993 | Columbus / Artists United for Nature, Sony Headquater, Tokyo, Japan |
| 1991 | Coulour (with Penn, Mapplethorpe, Wegman), Hamilton´s Gallery, London, UK |
LINKS
www.pawlok.com
Books/Catalogs (Selection)
Face the time, Girard-Perregeaux, Katalog zur Ausstellung, 2009
Werner Pawlok Werkschau, Katalog zur Ausstellung, Galerie Andreas Baumgartl, 2009
Photography in Advertising, Katalog zur Ausstellung, FormDesignCenter Malmö, Schweden, 2003
Emerging bodies / Akt in Polaroid, Barbara Hitchcock, 2010
Budapest, Marc Cain Cooperation, Deutschland, 2010
New York, Marc Cain Cooperation, Deutschland, 2010
Leigh Bowery, Violette Editions, London, UK, 1998
Stars & Paints, Publisher Edition Braus, Deutschland, 1997
Master Pieces, Collectors Box, Mercedes-Benz/Edition Domberger, 1993
Master Pieces, Publisher Edition Cantz, 1998
Transfers, Publisher Edition Cantz, 1992
Mois de la Photo á Paris, Jean-Luc Monterosso, 1992
Columbus in search of a new tomorrow, Collectors Box, AUN/Edition Domberger, 1992
Bodies, Publisher Polaroid, USA, 1988
50 Jahre Moderne Farbfotografie, Verlag Photokina/Manfred Heiting, 1986
Selections 3, Verlag Photographie/Polaroid, 1986
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