Rosemarie Trockel: Portrait of a singular artist

Rosemarie Trockel is considered Germany's most famous artist . Nevertheless, her name is unfamiliar to many people. There's a reason for this: Trockel rarely appears in public and doesn't give interviews. But she is ubiquitous – at Documenta and the Venice Biennale, as a long-time professor at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, and as a founding member of the Academy of the Arts of the World in Cologne.

Rosemarie Trockel was born in Schwerte, North Rhine-Westphalia, in 1952 and grew up in Leverkusen. Although there was no particular interest in art in her family, young Rosemarie began drawing at a very early age . In 1971, she began her studies at the Teacher Training College in Cologne, and from 1974 to 1978 she studied painting under Werner Schriefers at the Cologne Art Schools.

During her travels through the USA, Trockel came into contact with numerous feminist artists who greatly inspired her. Womanhood became a central theme in Trockel's works, which proved to be a guiding light for many contemporary female artists.

For years, Trockel ranked third or fourth in the Art Compass ranking of the world's most sought-after artists. Initially, her works garnered attention primarily in the United States, but she later achieved success in Europe as well. Trockel caused a major sensation in 1997 at Documenta X in Kassel when she and Carsten Höller the "House for Pigs and People .

The project, which housed a family of pigs, was intended to serve as a symbol for the “pig in man”.

Knitting patterns: moving away from outdated gender roles

From the mid-1980s onwards, Rosemarie Trockel famous for her knitted pictures. Knitting – banal, feminine, and not worth mentioning – was interpreted by the artist in a feminist way. At a time when the knitting boom had even reached universities and parliament, Trockel presented works such as “Life Means Knitting Tights”.

The key point: The patterns were machine-made.

It wasn't just Trockel's knitted pictures that became an indictment of traditional gender roles. The stove held a particular fascination for the artist. Her 1994 photograph "Sabine" offers an ironic interpretation of the "stay-at-home mom": it shows a naked woman wearing sunglasses, crouching on a stove.

Stovetops appear repeatedly in Trockel's oeuvre – sometimes as sculptures, sometimes as prints. At the MMK Frankfurt, some of these stovetops convey a particular message. They are red-hot – anyone who touches them will be burned. This demonstrates that even in the role of "housewife," women possess their own weapons.

Social criticism as an important component of contemporary art

For Rosemarie Trockel, art above all a means of prompting her fellow human beings to reflect. Therefore, she addresses themes in her artwork that society cannot ignore. This is particularly evident in her 2006 "Shutter"

What at first glance appears to be a brick wall turns out, upon closer inspection, to be a canvas made of meat. With this work, Trockel wanted to express how heavily modern societies depend on meat consumption.

There is hardly a topic that Trockel doesn't address. The Holocaust plays a role in her works, as does the discrimination against older people and the connection between alcoholism and child abuse. The artist also to animals : After the "House for Pigs and People," a "House for Pigeons, People, and Rats" for Expo 2000 in Hanover.

Major exhibitions

Trockel's first exhibition in Bonn was followed by exhibitions in the United States. In 1988, she participated in Made in Cologne, and in 1997 she was invited to Documenta X in Kassel. Rosemarie Trockel was the first woman to exhibit her work in the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1999.

The exhibition “Märzôschnee ûnd Wiebôrweh sand am Môargô niana me” at the Kunsthaus Bregenz in 2015 was to be her last for seven years. The exhibition's motto (“The next morning the March snow and the women's pains have disappeared”) is an old Bregenz saying that makes fun of women's pains.

However, the next exhibition did not take so long to arrive, as Rosemarie Trockel returned in September 2020 as part of the event “Watching the sun at midnight. Contemporary art from the Lenbachhaus and the KiCo Foundation” at the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus in Munich.

From December 2022 to June 2023, the MMK Frankfurt a retrospective of the artist .

Rosemarie Trockel: Enigma of the Art World

There are many contemporary female artists, but none of them can even come close to Rosemarie Trockel. Although she is considered the most famous female artist in the world, Rosemarie Trockel is still far Frida Kahlo or a Georgia Totto O'Keeffe

The reason for Trockel's anonymity is probably that she lets her art speak for itself and remains discreetly silent.

Rosemarie Trockel is a self-proclaimed feminist . This stance permeates her entire body of work without ever being intrusive. Trockel's works are characterized by a unique irony that only gradually reveals itself to the viewer.

Trockel is somewhat reminiscent of her British contemporary Tracey Emin , who also explores questions surrounding womanhood in her work. However, where Emin reveals autobiographical details, Trockel addresses society. She aims to provoke – not for the sake of provocation itself, but to stimulate thought.

A series of drawings by French film icon Brigitte Bardot sparks discussions about the Lolita cult, while a polyptych in the style of Andy Warhol's "Thirteen Most Wanted Men" depicts Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "widowmaker".

The retrospective at the MMK Frankfurt clearly demonstrates how much Rosemarie Trockel was a product of her time. The oven models that are central to her film "Heiliger" no longer exist. The whole thing has an almost nostalgic feel – and shows how drastically the role of women has changed since then. And Rosemarie Trockel made a valuable contribution to this change.

Trockel's works are always in the service of art. Those who wish can interpret them as political or socially critical, but the sheer breadth of the themes addressed makes a clear categorization impossible. It's not solely about the position of women in society , animal welfare, or mental health. Trockel allows viewers to weave their own thoughts into the interpretation.

Where can one admire Rosemarie Trockel's works?

Trockel's works are on display at the MMK Frankfurt until June 2023. Her works can also be seen public collections

Buy works by Rosemarie Trockel

The prices for Trockel's works are as diverse as her art itself. In 2014, one of her knitted paintings was auctioned at Sotheby's for a staggering $4,981,000. Prior to the auction, the artwork had been estimated at $1.5 to $2 million.

However, not all prices are in the seven-figure range: most of Trockel's works cost between 1,000 and 5,000 US dollars.

Contemporary female artists like Rosemarie Trockel are a rarity. Her artistic career spans 40 years, making her one of the most important figures in contemporary art . Trockel's works are just as relevant today as they were years ago – with a bold eye for societal injustices before they enter the public consciousness.

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and Managing Director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor, and passionate blogger in the fields of art, design, and creativity since 2011. Graduated with a degree in web design from university (2008). Further developed creative techniques through courses in freehand drawing, expressive painting, and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market gained through years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with key players and institutions in the arts and culture sector.

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