Rosemarie Trockel
(Born 1952)
Rosemarie Trockel was born in Schwerte, Germany in 1952. She studied in the Werkkunstschule in Cologne until 1978. Trockel’s oeuvre is diverse in themes and mediums, which include works on paper, ‘knitted paintings’ and sculptures. Though it is difficult to associate a particular style with her work, several concurrent themes can be identified, such as the female's role in society, trademarks and symbols as social signifiers and decorations and finally, her fascination with ethnographic and scientific studies, often expressed through her sculptures. Trockel has become best known for her machine-generated ‘knitted paintings' made of knitted woolen material placed on a stretcher. These works challenge classic notions of painting and general art-making while simultaneously commenting on feminine roles in society. Trockel references popular culture through her inclusion of logos or symbols, and sometimes text, as yet another way to comment on the commodification of art and on the subjectivity of language and visual representation.
Rosemarie Trockel has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Solo exhibitions of her work have been held in institutions such as Moderna Museet in Mälmo in 2018, Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria in 2015, New Museum in New York in 2012, Kunstmuseum Basel in Switzerland in 2010, MAXXI – Museo Nazionale Delle Arti Del XXI Secolo, in Rome in 2006, The Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt in 2004, and the Dia Foundation for the Arts in New York in 2002. She has also participated in exhibitions in major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen and the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg. Trockel has also participated in several international biennials, and her work has been featured in multiple publications. Her work has been awarded numerous prizes, including the 2011 Kaiserring from the city of Goslar, which is one of the best-known prizes for contemporary art in the world. Rosemarie Trockel lives and works in Cologne.
