Athanor NOW

From July 11 to 25, the Walther König bookshop is dedicating a showcase presentation to its former regular customer Sigmar Polke, who approached the art bookseller with book requests as well as special questions: this brings together publications, editions, objects and ephemera relating to Polke's celebrated Athanor installation at the 1986 Venice Biennale with current publications by contemporary theorists and artists. In addition to previously unpublished documents from the archive of the Anna Polke Foundation, special antiquarian books, catalogs and posters will be part of the showcase installation. Polke's Athanor cosmos, whose diverse thematic fields are reflected in his work as well as in the artist's large library, can be experienced through selected perspectives from art theory and practice, alchemy, ecology, technology, politics and contemporary history.
The opening of the exhibition on July 11, 2026 will be accompanied by a small wine reception and introductory remarks by the Anna Polke Foundation.