Isa Genzken

Isa Genzken's mediums encompass sculpture and installation, employing an eclectic range of materials such as concrete, plaster, wood, and textile. Additionally, she explores photography, video, film, and collage in her artistic practice.

Biography of Isa Genzken

Isa Genzken was born in Bad Oldesloe, Germany, in 1948. She pursued her studies at the prestigious Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where she studied under the guidance of luminaries such as Joseph Beuys, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, and Gerhard Richter.

After graduating in 1977, Genzken began teaching sculpture at the academy. She married German visual artist Gerhard Richter in 1982 and relocated to Cologne in 1983. However, the couple separated in 1993, prompting Genzken to return to Berlin.

Since the 1970s, Genzken's multifaceted practice has spanned sculpture, photography, found-object installation, film, drawing, and painting.

Genzken's first solo exhibition took place in 1976 at the Konrad Fischer Gallery in Düsseldorf.

In 2002, she received the Wolfgang-Hahn-Prize (Museum Ludwig, Cologne), and in 2004, she was awarded the International Art Prize (Cultural Donation of SSK Munich).

Drawing from the aesthetics of Minimalism, punk culture, and assemblage art, Genzken's work addresses the complexities of human experience within contemporary society and grapples with the challenging social dynamics of capitalism.