Australian born, London based Simon Linke (b. 1958) started painting Artforum advertisements in 1987, employing various sized canvases. The classic square magazine serves as an indelible endorsement of the exhibitions it announces. Although Artforum is respected for its serious editorial content, its advertisements are an increasingly significant component of the magazine. Often seen before or in lieu of the actual exhibition, advertisements encourage pre-judgment based on commercial qualities such as graphic design, recognizable gallery logos, or the artist’s assumed prestige. With technical precision, humor and critique, Linke reproduces these familiar images to reclaim art’s conceptual content.

Visible in all of Linke’s work is a laborious painting process in which the act of reproduction becomes an act of human accomplishment. Early works contain an especially stark contrast between painterly brushwork and the strikingly graphic b/w content of the 1980s. The monochromatic color scheme and bold text point directly to the advertisement’s persuasive power and ultimate intent. As the critic James Roberts comments on Linke’s paintings, “the topical becomes the historical when featured galleries or artists no longer play an active part in today’s discourse.” While some galleries have long-since closed and certain artists' names seem consigned to oblivion, Warhol, Beuys, Polke and the Milwaukee Art Museum continue to be relevant today.