special edition, signed algraphs in a limited edition “Sticks, Stigma, Stones and Samen” | The Munich Sketchbook for the exhibition at the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne Munich, 2023 | Motif 1 – Eryngium | Motiv 2 – Climbing Hydrangea
Tony Cragg (Sir Anthony Douglas Cragg) is one of the most internationally renowned sculptors of contemporary art. His drawings have rarely been shown in this context. They are an invaluable source of inspiration for him. With the exhibition “CRAGG” in 2023, the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung Munich provided extensive insights into his drawings since the 1980s. This made the connection to his sculptural work clear.
From 1979, Tony Cragg taught at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, in 2001 as Professor of Sculpture at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin, and in 2009 he was appointed Rector of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. In 1988, the artist was awarded the world’s most prestigious Turner Prize. He has been a Commander of the British Empire since 2002 and was made a Knight Bachelor in 2016, meaning he bears the title Sir in his name. In 2006, Tony Cragg, who has lived in Germany since 1979 and has been a German citizen since Brexit, created the Waldfrieden Sculpture Park in a 15-hectare park in Wuppertal, which opened in 2008.
He created the algraphs by Tony Cragg represented in the Hotel Koenigshof collection for the special edition of the exhibition at the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne. The drawing is scratched into aluminum plates and printed in a small edition using a flat printing process. The delicate depiction of the blossoms is particularly appealing.
Eva Mueller | Art Consultant
Curator of the Koenigshof Collection
VITA TONY CRAGG (short form)
1949 born in Liverpool, Great Britain | 1973 Royal Collage of Art in London | 1976 lectureship at the École des Beaux-Arts in Metz | 1979 professorship at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf | 1980, 1986, 1988, 1993 Biennale di Venezia | 1982/87 participation in documenta 7 and 8 in Kassel | and biennials in São Paulo and Sydney
AWARDS AND WORKS IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS (selection)
1988 Turner Prize London, Great Britain | 1989 Von der Heydt Kulturpreis Wuppertal | 1990 Early Forms Von der Heydt Museum | 1992 Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres | 2001 Shakespeare Prize | 2001 Honorary Degree Award of Doctor of the University of Surrey, England | 2001 Honorary Fellowship, John Moores University, Liverpool, England | 2002 Piepenbrock Prize for Sculpture | 2005 First Prize for Best Sculpture, Beijing Biennale | 2007 Praemium Imperiale | 2007 Goldene Schwebebahn Wuppertal | 2008 Ehrenring der Stadt Wuppertal | 2012 Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Class | 2012 Cologne Fine Art Prize | 2013 Grand Culture Prize of the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Rheinland | 2014 Mean Average, Pedestrian Zone Bonn | 2017 Prize for Visual Artists, Düsseldorfer Jonges
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA | The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan | Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal | Musée d´Art Moderne, Brüssel, Belgum | Museu D’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Barcelona, Spain | Museum Moderner Kunst (MUMOK), Wien, Austria | Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, USA | Sammlung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland | Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven | Stedelijk Museum’s-Hertogenbosch, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Tate Britain, London, Great Britain | Tate Modern, London, Great Britain | Tate Livepool, Liverpool, Great Britain | Deutsche Bank Collection, Frankfurt | Florence & Daniel Guerlain Collection, les Mesnuls, France | Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France | Frac Ile-de-France, Paris, France | GoMA – Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Great Britain | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA | K21 Kunstsammlung im Ständehaus, Düsseldorf | Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg | Museum Folkwang, Essen | Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA