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Sigmar Polke — Apparat, mit dem eine Kartoffel eine andere Kartoffel umkreisen kann (Apparatus Whereby One Potato Can Orbit Another)
Sigmar Polke

Apparat, mit dem eine Kartoffel eine andere Kartoffel umkreisen kann (Apparatus Whereby One Potato Can Orbit Another)

In this characteristically irreverent work, Sigmar Polke presents a humble potato mounted on a simple mechanical apparatus, embodying his playful subversion of artistic conventions and consumer culture. Created in 1969, the piece humorously mimics the language of scientific instruments and space-age technology — a nod to the era's obsession with orbital mechanics — while elevating an utterly mundane object to the status of serious artistic inquiry. The work exemplifies Polke's signature wit and his engagement with Capitalist Realism, transforming the ordinary into the absurd with deadpan precision.

Medium
signed in black ink on the top, below this, traces of a second signature, a partial date '*969' and the edition number 3/30, from the early part of the edition of 30, registered as number 12/00927 with the artist's estate, with the accompanying Certificate of Authenticity, published by Edition Tangente, Heidelberg (later Edition Staeck) (with their blindstamp on the underside of the seat).

🔨 Auction Lot

Evening & Day Editions

January 22, 2015

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About this work

Sigmar Polke, Apparat, mit dem eine Kartoffel eine andere Kartoffel umkreisen kann (Apparatus Whereby One Potato Can Orbit Another)

In this characteristically irreverent work, Sigmar Polke presents a humble potato mounted on a simple mechanical apparatus, embodying his playful subversion of artistic conventions and consumer culture. Created in 1969, the piece humorously mimics the language of scientific instruments and space-age technology — a nod to the era's obsession with orbital mechanics — while elevating an utterly mundane object to the status of serious artistic inquiry. The work exemplifies Polke's signature wit and his engagement with Capitalist Realism, transforming the ordinary into the absurd with deadpan precision.

Medium
signed in black ink on the top, below this, traces of a second signature, a partial date '*969' and the edition number 3/30, from the early part of the edition of 30, registered as number 12/00927 with the artist's estate, with the accompanying Certificate of Authenticity, published by Edition Tangente, Heidelberg (later Edition Staeck) (with their blindstamp on the underside of the seat).
Seen at
Phillips, New York, London, Hong Kong

Related themes

Potato Motif, Capitalist Realism, German Artist, 20th Century, German Male Artist, Kinetic Concept, Male Artist, Sculpture, Humorous Absurdist, Conceptual Art, Fluxus Influenced, Earthy Tones, Postwar Contemporary, Pop Art, Limited Edition, Political Satire, Absurdist Humor, Satirical Art, Whimsical Mood, Sculptural Object

More works by Sigmar Polke

Collected by

Art Institute of Chicago