The art historian Diether Schmidt once described Stefan Plenkers as the »head of young Dresden graphic art and painting«. That was in 1980; the artist would have turned 80 in spring 2025. He did not live to see the honouring retrospective held at the Leonhardi Museum to mark the occasion. Now, a few months after his death, our exhibition will be a worthy and joyful reminder.
Stefan Plenkers drew his inspiration from the places he used, the places he travelled to, the places he liked: his studio, urban space, landscapes, harbours, beaches, pubs, the circus world. But he does not make it easy for the viewer: narrative elements are rare, instead the artist creates nested spaces that offer little security, in which plunging lines and seemingly chaotic structures mislead, jostle and bounce off the viewer's gaze. Plenkers obscures this view with inserted walls, such as deliberately placed curtains, balustrades, posts or half-open doors. The viewer is forced to find his own way through unknown terrain and is encouraged to surmise what is hidden behind the obstacles. Plenker's gesture is two-dimensional, the pictorial language is concise, interior and exterior spaces are sparse. It is not least the reduction from which the works from Plenker's early creative phase derive their intensity.
Stefan Plenkers and the Leonhardi Museum have a long history: his first solo exhibition, immediately after studying at the Dresden HfBK under Günter Horlbeck, Herbert Kunze and Gerhard Kettner, took place in our museum in 1973, followed by others in 1986 and 1996.
In the current exhibition we are showing 14 paintings from the years 1976 to 1988, »paintings about music« (ink drawings on scores by Carlo Inderhees), charcoal drawings and monotypes as well as etchings and lithographs (portfolio »Meer und Küste« from 1976 and the »Kneipenmappe« from 1979/80). The works come from Stefan Plenkers' studio as well as from the private collections of collectors from all over Germany. The film »Perlmuttlicht - Facets from the life of the Dresden painter Stefan Plenkers« by Dieter Berger and Steffen F. Schmidt will also be shown.
(André Hennig)
Prof. Matthias Flügge spoke at the opening on Friday, March 14, 2025.
Dietmar Diesner - Free Sounds for Stefan played.
