We would like to thank Michael Trier, Cologne, for kindly providing additional information.

Collection Wulf Herzogenrath, Berlin (received in 1997 directly from the artist)

“Back in the 1960s, Sigmar Polke would sit on the banks of the Rhine and throw stones into the river. These stones sank to the bottom and are still lying there today. The ripples, however, set in motion by the stones striking the water, are still visible to this day. By now, they have reached the middle of the Atlantic, where they extend over hundreds of kilometres in diameter and are beginning to approach the east coast of North America; for the energy unleashed by Sigmar Polke never dissipates but continues to spread in ever-expanding concentric circles. Even then, he was fascinated by the splashes, the waves, the hissing of the water as he threw the stones into it. He captured these moments in photographs; for years, these photographs had been stored in large boxes alongside numerous photographs of fire, depicting similarly luminous, flickering fields of light. In the context of Rheingold, these old remnants have once again assumed significance and have been revitalised. […]
In his own way, Polke sees reality anew, painting, photographing and filming it for himself, for his visual repertoire and for future reuse, while continually reassembling the reality of images. […] At the same time, however, through the photographic process and its specific chemical reagents, he develops an autonomous creative force that overgrows and transforms the realism of his photographs. In this respect, the discovery made by Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge in 1855 once again becomes significant for him. In his book The Creative Impulse of Substances, Illustrated by Independently Growing Images, Runge had already spoken, more than a century ago, of the ‘coming into form of matter’. Whereas F. F. Runge initially applied this ‘creative impulse’ solely to the form-generating drive of matter, Polke extends the concept, with equal delight, to the realm of content. Indeed, he takes pleasure in allowing chemical processes in photography, or the similarly complex processes involved in his choice and mixing of colours in painting, to unfold and exert their influence. […]
The desire to experiment with the new, to probe the truth and make it glow in ever-changing facets, and to venture continually into uncharted territory – whether in drawing, painting, photography or film – is what continues to distinguish Polke to this day, making him so compelling to the younger generation and to visually perceptive audiences.”
(Wulf Herzogenrath)
Text from: Wulf Herzogenrath, Stephan von Wiese (ed.): Rheingold. 40 Künstler aus Köln und Düsseldorf. Köln, Wienand Verlag, 1985, p. 200, 203