05/15/2026
OSMOS is pleased to be mounting a solo presentation by Anton Stankowski at Independent 2026 ( ) at Booth 200. Visit us at Pier 36 between 11am and 5pm until Sunday, May 17th.
Anton Stankowski (1906–1998), renowned in his native Germany as one of the most distinctive graphic designers of the postwar period, was a photographer and visual artist who insisted on the interrelationship of applied and fine arts throughout his practice. Trained at the progressive Folkwangschule in Essen in the 1920s, Stankowski developed a formal vocabulary rooted in constructivist abstraction, influenced by Russian Constructivism and Dada collage. His photographs from this period feature unusual angles, radical perspectives, industrial subjects, and technical experimentation.
After returning to Germany in 1934 and later serving in World War II, Stankowski restarted his career in Stuttgart in 1951, becoming internationally recognized for his corporate logos, graphic identities, and posters, including work for Deutsche Bank and the 1972 Munich Olympics.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Stankowski returned to focus on painting and printmaking, revisiting earlier compositions and motifs. Featuring paintings from the 1960s–1990s alongside rare photographs and works on paper from the 1930s never before shown in the US, this presentation highlights many of Stankowski’s most iconic formal inventions, from geometric repetition and projection to more organic approaches to abstraction.
1. Installation view by Silvia Ros.
2. Anton Stankowski, Stufen (Steps), 1932
3. Anton Stankowski, Gitter (Grid), 1986
4. Anton Stankowski, Vergrößerung ohne Negativ (Fotogramm “Erbsen”), 1929
5. Anton Stankowski, Räumliche Bänder (Spatial Bands), 1977