Isa Genzken / Verlag Silke Schreiber / 1988
Text by Klaus Honnef. Published by Verlag Silke Schreiber, Munich, to accompany exhibitions in Bonn, Winterthur, and Rotterdam.
Format: hardcover with cloth spine
Size: approx. 24 × 28 cm
Pages: 112 pages
Illustrations: 65 black-and-white and colour illustrations
Language: German and English
Condition: very good; clean and tight throughout with light shelf wear consistent with age
A substantial early monograph on Isa Genzken, published in 1988 to accompany a touring exhibition across three venues. The book surveys Genzken’s sculpture and installation work from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s — the period in which she developed her signature formal language: elongated concrete and epoxy forms, architectural references, and a rigorous engagement with space, material, and scale.
Klaus Honnef’s critical essay situates Genzken’s practice in relation to architectural modernism, drawing connections to El Lissitzky, Mart Stam, and the ABC group. The illustrations document key works including Rheinbrücke (1983), Weltempfänger (1982), and the Kölnischer Kunstverein installation (1982), alongside earlier concrete sculptures photographed in situ.
The cover reproduces a photograph of a glass door reflecting one of Genzken’s sculptures — an image that captures the spatial and reflective qualities central to her practice. The pale green cloth spine is characteristic of Verlag Silke Schreiber’s production values of the period.
An important and now scarce document of Genzken’s early career, published before her international profile was fully established. Increasingly sought after by collectors and researchers.
