Dunkel’s Freiheit

More than 300 illustrations document the artist’s activities in an exemplary manner, including his participation in ‘Kunst am Bau’ projects, from the large-scale sculptures in the Scharoun Settlement Charlottenburg-Nord from 1959 to ‘Europa und der Stier’ (Europe and the Bull) in 1996/97 in the Gewerbezentrum Pankow. His involvement in various sculptor initiatives such as ‘Plastik 71’, the association in the western part of Berlin, is here for the first time chronologically recorded and described in the external impact. The need of the Inselberliners to create free spaces away from home comes to the fore in Dunkel’s sketchbooks and landscape drawings from Franche Comté. And the efforts of Halbstadt to achieve world renown are shown in the 1987/88 International Music Prize, whose “Berolina” trophy is traced in its creation. Research into the activities of the image founders and photographers provides a vivid picture of their collaboration with the artist. Since his sculptural work includes not only metal castings, some authors provide information about terracotta and plaster as the final stage, as well as colored versions of his sculptures. Other authors deal with the female figure, the cardinal theme in Dunkel’s universe. From the wide spectrum of works on paper, pictorial inventions on the Minotaur, the Hubertus deer, fabulous animals and intermediate creatures are in the field of observation.
In continuation of “Dunkel’s Geheimnis” (anthology I from 2010), “Dunkel’s Freiheit” reflects further facets of his branching artistic life. The publication once again makes clear that Joachim Dunkel is a constant reference point for figuration and one of the few bridge builders between periods, places and visual arts.
With contributions by Irmtraud Frfr. v. Andrian-Werburg, Richard Barth, Tilman R. Bassenge, Karl-Heinz Bethmann, Jens Boettcher, Konrad Donhuijsen, Margit Emesz, Josephine Gabler, Janos Geist, Barbara Grunewald, Günter Habermann, Kosette Hallmann, Friedrich Detlev Hardegen, Lisa Huber, Fritz Jacobi, Joachim Kruse, Christel Neumann, Hermann Noack, Michael Nungesser, Martha Pflug, Karin Reetz, Thomas Schelper, Gerda Schimpf, Dieter Schuler, Dirk Tiedemann, Joost van der Velden, Johannes Wendt, Veronika Wiegartz.