G眉nther F枚rg
Skarstedt announces an exhibition of work by the late German artist G眉nther F枚rg, at their uptown gallery this February. This exhibition鈥攔emarkably only the third time F枚rg鈥檚 work has been shown in the United States in nearly two decades鈥� will showcase 9 of the artist鈥檚 signature paintings on lead, dating from 1986-1990. G眉nther F枚rg: Lead Paintings will be on view at Skarstedt (20 E. 79th Street) from February 19 through March 28, 2015.
Throughout his career, F枚rg co-opted various uncommon materials as painting supports鈥� the most notable of which was lead. Using imagery born of abstract painting and minimalism, F枚rg built upon the work of predecessors such as Blinky Palermo and allowed the material to become his vehicle for expression. F枚rg said of these works, 鈥淚 like very much the qualities of lead 鈥� the surface, the heaviness鈥� I like to react on things, with the normal canvas you often have to kill the ground, give it something to react against. With the metals you already have something - its scratches, scrapes.鈥�
To create these paintings, F枚rg wrapped lead sheets over wood, then painted each surface with acrylic. The large-scale yet minimal compositions visibly reference American color field painters such as Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. A number of works in the exhibition feature variations of Newman鈥檚 vertical 鈥榸ips鈥�. It鈥檚 important to note that F枚rg did not share the movement鈥檚 metaphysical ambitions, but instead intended his Lead Paintings as a visual homage to color field abstraction. The series鈥� reductive compositions exist as F枚rg intended: fields of experimentation in painting.
The uneven lead surfaces introduce tension between the flatness of the picture plane and the dimensionality of F枚rg鈥檚 brushstrokes. With each composition layered over a matte lead base, the success of the Lead Paintings relies upon variations in pressure applied to the brush. These variances, as well as the opaque fast-drying nature of acrylic, give prominence to color density and weight. Absorbing nothing, the lead surfaces reveal brushwork both laconic and brisk.
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Skarstedt announces an exhibition of work by the late German artist G眉nther F枚rg, at their uptown gallery this February. This exhibition鈥攔emarkably only the third time F枚rg鈥檚 work has been shown in the United States in nearly two decades鈥� will showcase 9 of the artist鈥檚 signature paintings on lead, dating from 1986-1990. G眉nther F枚rg: Lead Paintings will be on view at Skarstedt (20 E. 79th Street) from February 19 through March 28, 2015.
Throughout his career, F枚rg co-opted various uncommon materials as painting supports鈥� the most notable of which was lead. Using imagery born of abstract painting and minimalism, F枚rg built upon the work of predecessors such as Blinky Palermo and allowed the material to become his vehicle for expression. F枚rg said of these works, 鈥淚 like very much the qualities of lead 鈥� the surface, the heaviness鈥� I like to react on things, with the normal canvas you often have to kill the ground, give it something to react against. With the metals you already have something - its scratches, scrapes.鈥�
To create these paintings, F枚rg wrapped lead sheets over wood, then painted each surface with acrylic. The large-scale yet minimal compositions visibly reference American color field painters such as Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. A number of works in the exhibition feature variations of Newman鈥檚 vertical 鈥榸ips鈥�. It鈥檚 important to note that F枚rg did not share the movement鈥檚 metaphysical ambitions, but instead intended his Lead Paintings as a visual homage to color field abstraction. The series鈥� reductive compositions exist as F枚rg intended: fields of experimentation in painting.
The uneven lead surfaces introduce tension between the flatness of the picture plane and the dimensionality of F枚rg鈥檚 brushstrokes. With each composition layered over a matte lead base, the success of the Lead Paintings relies upon variations in pressure applied to the brush. These variances, as well as the opaque fast-drying nature of acrylic, give prominence to color density and weight. Absorbing nothing, the lead surfaces reveal brushwork both laconic and brisk.
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