The Art of Anselm Reyle

Book excerpt: Born in 1970, Anselm Reyle already dealt ndash; at a time when the art market was screaming for figurative paintings ndash; with abstraction and formalism. He gives new impulses to subject matters that have been considered passeacute; since the age of modernism by working with present-day materials and associations. His pictures have realised record prices at auctions while the prices of his young German colleagues have stagnated. This year alone, two paintings by Reyle have been auctioned for a tenfold of their valuation price. It is therefore all the more astonishing that there has previously been only one exhibition catalogue (ARS NOVA, Kunsthalle Zurich, 2006) with Anselm Reyle's works. This lavish, large-format monograph is the first of its kind to examine his entire oeuvre. It is printed in seven-colour inks including three special neon colours and printed in part on various type of film, varnished paper and reflecting base coats. Reyle has created 10 new works based on a playful dealing with these materials conceived exclusively for this monograph that will only exist in it. Alongside 300 illustrated works, his own photographs examining the positioning of Berlin, and three texts on his works, the French designer and photo artist Hedi Slimane has developed a series of black and white photographs portraying Reyle at work in his studio. English and German text.