Paperworlds

The catalogue presents more than 60 childhood and adolescent drawings by artists who are now internationally renowned. The works, selected by the artists themselves, provide insight into sketches and paintings that they made when they were between four and fifteen years old.

Many of the pictures show typical childlike motifs; others reflect the different cultures and political systems from which the artists originate. Norbert Bisky, who grew up in the German Democratic Republic, painted a military parade when he was seven, while Katja Strunz shows us bourgeois West German idylls. With childlike strokes, Tal R, born in Israel, draws armed men, tanks, warships and air raids, while Ralf Ziervogel makes ink tracings of Hollywood posters. The beginnings of well-known artists have never before been examined in such detail. The book provides an intimate insight into the artists’ childhood worlds.

Text in English and German.