German painter, draughtsman, sculptor, director, writer and musician, Penck began painting at only ten years old. At the beginning of the 60s, he concentrated on standard images and signs, developing, after 1963, his own schematic language based on ideas taken from Mathematics, Cybernetics and Physics. In these works, forms and images show the political and social concerns of the period, an aspect that enabled Penck to exercise an enormous influence over other artists. In 1970, he founded the Lücke group of artists. Between 1972 and 1992, he took part in documenta 5, 6 and 9, in Kassel. He is also a jazz musician and, in 1979, released his first album, as well as publishing various theoretical articles on art. In 1980, he settled in Cologne. In the 80s, he produced sculptures in wood which, after 1992, were also made of bronze.
