Jürgen Klauke

*1943

Between 1964 and 1970 Jürgen Klauke studied Freie Grafik (Graphic Arts) in Cologne, at the Kölner Werkschulen (Cologne Art Schools) and became master student to Alfred Will. The human body, always with respect to gender identity, has informed his art ever since. Towards the end of his studies, Klauke discovered the photographic process and considered it the ideal artistic medium for his subject. Soon he became one of the most poignant representatives of what was later to be called body art. His oeuvre is composed of thematic cycles captured in photography, but it also comprises performances. His art works, often meant to provoke, are now considered an essential part of contemporary German cultural production. Klauke was a participant in the Documenta 6 in 1977 and the Documenta 8 in 1987 as well as in the Aperto section of the Biennale di Venezia in 1980 curated by Harald Szeemann. He has held various professorships, such as 1983 to 1994 he was professor at the Folkwang Hochschule (University of Essen). Between 1994 and 2008 he was professor for photography at the Kunsthochschule für Medien (Academy of Media Arts) in Cologne. Jürgen Klauke lives and works in Cologne.