Von Willich Aus / Starting from Willich: Photographs 1973–78

In 1972 Sigmar Polke (1941–2010) moved into the Gaspelshof in Willich on the Lower Rhine, which soon became an artist commune. The place had a formative influence on his output: from Willich he set off on numerous journeys with his wife, Katharina Steffen, living and working among a circle of friends. Starting from Willich gathers over one hundred photographs from this period, many never before published or exhibited.

The pictures offer a glimpse into Germany's 1970s alternative scene alongside Polke's darkroom experimentation — multiple exposure, solarization and chemical processing yielding unstable, almost transcendental images. Many stage masquerade scenes: friends in clown-like costume, and Polke himself spontaneously caught on film. An essay by Laszlo Glozer accompanies the plates.

Best known for a restless, materially experimental painting practice that ranged across Pop imagery, chemical processes and found fabrics, Polke treated photography with the same improvisational rigor. This volume offers a focused look at a body of photographic work long overshadowed by his painting.