Jorg Karg: Manifest

Monographic Publication

Represented by our CAI Gallery program—Jorg Karg’s latest monographic publication, titled Manifest, compiles his most recent photographic digital collages (2023) in a beautifully designed art book. The collectible art book is a visual celebration and journey of beauty, photography, digital collage, and the almost immersive experience of the image influenced. The publication was printed as a softcover measuring 297 x 210 mm in Germany, with 47 pages including reproductions in color, with English as its primary language. Jorg Karg: Manifest, priced at €32,00, is now available in the CAI webshop here.

Jorg Karg—a pseudonym as the artist humbly states his own person is irrelevant to the experience of his work—is a contemporary artist working predominantly in digital collage but also in sculpture and painting. Karg is interested and fascinated by the image an sich and the perception and experience of that image as a viewer. With a background in painting and drawing, Karg implements long-established fundamental ideas and notions of painting into his collage practice. His photographic material is transformed into a digital collage that feels closer to painting than photography or digital art. His compositions are an allegation of contemporary imagery, image theory, new media, and the everlasting tradition of visual arts in relation to the human condition.

“The intention behind my digital photo collages is to make the beholder feel addressed immediately, without any further explanation. Therefore I use present-day visual language and techniques to combine it with long-established, fundamental ideas of painting and drawing. Our subjective perception is shaped by so many influences these days. Modern media affects us immensely, but so do almost forgotten ideas about shapes, colors, and expressions of past days. Everything builds on one another and is subconsciously present all the time (…).” (Excerpt from Jorg Karg: Manifest)

Focusing on digital photographic collage since 2008, Karg manipulates his own photographic material—created in collaboration with photographers around the world—before rearranging it using photo-editing software into a digital collage. Unexpected objects are introduced into the image and integrated into the overall composition and subject. With his collages from 2023, presented in the monographic publication, Jorg Karg seems to elevate this practice to another level once more. Alternation black and white with sepia-toned images, Karg’s poetically striking figures inhabit a minimal environment, focusing on the symbolic construction of surreal interventions and integrated elements.

Born, residing, and working in Germany, Jorg Karg participated in the 9th Beijing Art Biennale at the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) and has been selected for the IPA International Photography Award, PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, Monochrome Awards, ND Awards, Monovisions Photography Award, BLOOOM Award, and the Ashurst Emerging Artist Award (2017). His digital photographic collages are printed as limited edition pigment prints on fine-art photo paper under acrylic glass with aluminum Dibond backing (DIASEC) and bordering aluminum rail for an invisible wall-mount alternatively framed fine-art paper print. Handsigned and number. For a catalog with available works, please write us at [email protected]