CATCH "Gouaches", an exhibition of post-war German artworks by one of Germany’s best-known artists, Sigmar Polke, at the National Art Gallery from now till May 28.

Born in 1941, Polke began his career as an apprentice in a stained glass factory before he entered the Dusseldorf Kunstakademie (Art School) at the age of 20.

Upon graduation in 1968, he published a portfolio of 14 photographs taken with a borrowed camera of his tabletop sculptures and performances. He also experimented with chemical developers and fixers.

Polke travelled the world — Paris, New York, Afghanistan, and Brazil — throughout the ’70s. He finally settled in Cologne, where he has been living and working since.

The exhibition comprises 40 gouaches with a format of 70x100 cm, all dating back to 1996. These exhibits are the core of Polke’s "Music from an Unknown Source" exhibition, which give an insight into an artistic movement which ranks among the most significant of the German post-war era.

Polke often takes a distant position of irony, which enables him to turn his attention — above and beyond issues of content — to the form and the material nature of painting.

The gouaches of this exhibition have a "dripping and flowing" theme, which is used to illustrate the uncontrolled happening of physical phenomena as opposed to the controlled form.

The exhibition is jointly presented by the National Art Gallery and the German embassy in conjunction with German Cultural Month 2006.

Visit the National Art Gallery at Jalan Temerloh, off Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur. Viewing hours: 10am-6pm daily. Free admission.

For details, call 03-2142-2011 (Goethe Institute).