MINIMALISM AND AFTER II
New Aquisitions
John M Armleder, Richard Artschwager, Wolfgang Berkowski, Stephen Bram, Daniel Buren, Ian Burn, Hanne Darboven, Gene Davis, Hermann Glöckner, Benoit Gollety, Katharina Grosse, Esther Hiepler, Sol LeWitt, John McLaughlin, Olivier Mosset, David Novros, Charlotte Posenenske, Gerwald Rockenschaub, Henryk Stazewski, Katja Strunz, Michael Zahn.
Daimler Contemporary
February 14
- May 18, 2003
new opening hours:
daily 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Untitled, 1969
Oil on canvas#1 - 1962, 1962
Oil on canvas8 Reliefs, elements of series C, 1967
sheet steel, yellow, on edge, blockUntitled (silver), 1966
Oil on canvas, 6 parts
Gene Davis
1920 - 1985 Washington, USAUntitled, 1969
Oil on canvasGene Davis is part of the tradition of American geometrical-abstract painting that broke the ground for colour-field painting. Davis devoted himself exclusively to the pictorial theme of stripes from 1959, calculating their length and width precisely in relationship to the size of the canvas. This creates images that have the potential to reach out into the space, similar to those produced by later Minimal Art.
Repeating a single element and abandoning a focal point for the composition relate this to Jackson Pollock's all-over.The homogeneous application of paint, the vertical stripes and the classical-looking scale of his images can be traced back to the direct influence of Barnett Newman. Gene Davis's pictures develop a dynamic upward thrust reminiscent of Gothic architecture. Like Buren or Toroni, Davis also shifted his stripe theme out of an actionist-political impulse into public space.
John McLaughlin
1898 in Sharon, USA - 1976 Dana Point, USA#1 - 1962, 1962
Oil on canvasJohn McLaughlin is seen in the USA as one of the pioneers of minimalist and hard-edge painting. He showed an interest in Asian art even as a young man, and traveled to China and Japan. McLaughlin did not start to paint until 1946, when he settled in Dana Point at the age of almost fifty. His thought and work continued to be powerfully influenced by his fascination with oriental art and culture, but as well by Piet Mondrian and Kasimir Malevich.
The painting #1 - 1962, 1962 is one of a small group of works produced in the early 60s, in which monochrome vertical lines and stripes are distributed rhythmically across the picture surface. McLaughlin uses color to define form and allocate a certain role to it within the composition. When form and color come together, foreground and background are dissolved, perspective and space are replaced by their counter-concept, emptiness. McLaughlin intended to stimulate the viewer to a »contemplative« attitude in the tradition of Zen.
Charlotte Posenenske
1930 - 1985 Frankfurt a. M., D8 Reliefs, elements of series C, 1967
sheet steel, yellow, on edge, blockPosenenske had a lasting preference for industrial production processes where she made out the objectification to which she aspired as an artist. The reliefs are signed merely by a template »CP«. The edition is unlimited. Posenenske envisaged industrial production without, however, tackling it in practical terms, but she worked towards the vanishing of art and artist. The yellow reliefs were preferably hung as a series of identical elements.
People responded to the radical nature of the concept with either enthusiasm or fierce disapproval. A newspaper critic wrote: »Their simplicity is challenging to such an extent that no-one is able to silently compromise when looking at them.« 1967 the FAZ wrote maliciously: »Living culture and shop window decorations will benefit greatly.« At the end of 1968, in the midst of a promising career, Posenenske turned her back on art and decided to study social sciences: »It is painful for me to face the fact that art cannot contribute to the solution of urgent social problems.« (Charlotte Posenenske)
David Novros
*1941 Los Angeles, USA, lives in New York, USAUntitled (silver), 1966
Oil on canvas, 6 partsDavid Novros is one of the most important exponents of the tendency within American Minimalism called »Systemic Painting«. Untitled (silver) consists of canvases cut into L-shapes, with a gold ground painted over with silver. The unusual depth of the individual elements underlines a sculptural element within the installation as a whole. The artist abandons the integral, two-dimensional image, preferring an architectural space instead of »flatness«, as emphasized by the minimalist painting of artists like Barnett Newman or Frank Stella.
Novros's work makes the wall an essential element of the composition. The work operates at the interface between wall and space, emphasizing »painting as wall« (David Novros). The colored works predominate within the work group made up of multipartite picture objects, playing with monochromy remains the exception. Novros transported the concept of the L-shape into wall painting, which was to remain a key working area for a long time, in the early 70s.
