Untitled I 2000

Gunther Forg created this Untitled print using screen printing. Forg was a German artist whose work across photography, sculpture and painting often engaged with the legacy of modernism. Here, the blocks of colour and visible printing process bring attention to the artwork as an object. Forg’s work emerged during the postmodern turn in the art world. Artists like Forg were wary of the grand claims made for art’s social role by earlier generations. Instead, they turned to a critical investigation of the institutions and visual languages through which social power operates. This is art that reflects on the conditions of its own making. The social context of this work can be understood better through gallery archives, artist’s biographies and critical writings that are held in libraries and museums. The meaning of art is always shaped by its location in a particular time and place.