Untitled 1961

This untitled work was made with paint on canvas by Charlotte Posenenske. The marks in black and blue draw attention to the gestures of the artist. Posenenske came of age in post-war Germany, and her art career coincided with a time of economic recovery and a burgeoning consumer culture in West Germany. She began making art at a time of social change, and like other artists of her generation, she was interested in breaking down traditional boundaries between art and life. Her turn away from painting towards the mass production of modular sculptural forms made of industrial materials can be understood as a critique of the art market. She went on to abandon art altogether, becoming a sociologist focused on labor and industrial production. The study of an artist like Posenenske calls for a wide range of historical sources and it forces us to consider the public role of art.