Rosemarie Trockel

Born in 1952 in Schwerte, Germany, Rosemarie Trockel is a German artist whose work brings techniques and motifs associated with different domains into dialogue. In the mid-1980s, her “Wool works” attracted attention: made on an electronic knitting machine, they incorporate motifs such as the Playboy bunny, the hammer and sickle, and the international wool logo. The use of industrial rather than artisanal production characterises these works. Using the same technique, she also creates knitted pictures bearing inscriptions, such as a large beige work featuring Descartes’ “Cogito ergo sum”, written by hand.

From the early 1980s, the “Hydrocephalus” series addressed standards of beauty as well as notions of monstrosity, imagination and fantasy. In the early 1990s, Trockel explored the possibilities of photocopying, notably by superimposing the faces of Brigitte Bardot and Bertolt Brecht. In works related to Bardot, she also made a seal wearing a necklace of platinum-blonde hair. The figure of the monkey recurs in several of her works and gradually takes the place of the artist’s portrait, eventually becoming a form of self-portrait.

Her education began in Cologne in 1971 with pedagogical studies geared towards teaching, specialising in anthropology, sociology, theology and mathematics. From 1974 to 1978, she studied at the Cologne School of Applied Arts with Werner Schriefers. A solo exhibition in Cologne in 1982 marked a step towards greater visibility for her work. She subsequently took part in “Projects 11” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1988, documenta X in Kassel in 1997 — where she presented “Ein Haus für Schweine und Menschen” with Carsten Höller — and the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999, in the German Pavilion. From 1998 to 2016, she taught at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Her works are held in the permanent collections of, among others, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tate in London.

Works recorded at auction

Lempertz · Lot 415

Untitled

Watercolour on paper

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel
Aquarell auf Papier

Auction date : 2025-12-05

Published result : 3276 EUR

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : 3000

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Lempertz · Lot 416

Untitled

Aquarell und Deckweiss auf Papier

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel
Aquarell und Deckweiss auf Papier

Auction date : 2025-12-05

Published result : 5040 EUR

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : 4000

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Lempertz · Lot 395

Untitled

Farbkreiden auf Papier

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel
Farbkreiden auf Papier

Auction date : 2024-06-05

Published result : 3024 EUR

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : 3000

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Lempertz · Lot 396

Untitled

Aquarell und Farbkreide auf kariertem Papier

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel
Aquarell und Farbkreide auf kariertem Papier

Auction date : 2024-06-05

Published result : 4158 EUR

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : 4000

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Lempertz · Lot 490

Untitled

Ink on paper

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel
Tusche auf Papier

Auction date : 2023-12-02

Published result : 5040 EUR

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : 5000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 248

Ich kenne mich nicht aus

Watercolour and ink on paper

Original catalogue wording

Ich kenne mich nicht aus
Aquarell und Tusche auf Papier

Catalogue period : 2023-06-21

Published result : 4948 CHF

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : CHF 2000–3000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 142

Untitled, 1989

Watercolour on paper

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel, 1989
aquarelle sur papier

Catalogue period : 2022-06-22

Published result : 6803 CHF

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : CHF 2000–3000

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Lempertz · Lot 874

Untitled

Mischtechnik auf liniertem Papier

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel
Mischtechnik auf liniertem Papier

Auction date : 2016-06-04

Published result : 4712 EUR

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : 4000

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Kornfeld

Untitled

Gouache

Original catalogue wording

O.T.
gouache

Date to be documented

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

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