Ludwig Wilding: Space – Movement – Time

‘Poles have poor eyesight’ was the reply I received from Professor Maria Poprzęcka when I asked why Ludwig Wilding and his work were entirely unknown in Poland. Ludwig Wilding is a respected artist in Western Europe. The opening this May of his retrospective exhibition Visuelle Phänomene at the Museum für Konkrete Kunst in Ingolstadt drew crowds of visitors from across Western Europe. I myself had difficulty moving from one gallery to the next. Works by the artist, who turned eighty this year, are held in numerous European and American collections.

The unfamiliarity of Ludwig Wilding’s work in Poland probably also stems from the fact that Op art was never particularly popular in this country. The artist himself observes that the name of this movement in art in a sense restricted and narrowed the reception of works to the optical—to what reaches the viewer through the eyes. I warmly encourage everyone interested in Ludwig Wilding’s work to read Krzysztof Cichoń’s conversation with this creator of extraordinary visual phenomena, as the artist’s works are described. It is a fascinating conversation with a man who, over the course of his artistic career, had the opportunity to take part in many important events. I also recommend the text written by Ludwig Wilding in which he explains the principles behind his work. At Atlas Sztuki we will show sixty works by the artist from different periods of his career. It is my pleasure to invite you to visit Atlas Sztuki and see Ludwig Wilding’s work.