Statement in 4 Tempi

COLOUR

I studied almost obsessively almost all known theories about colour (Goethe’s Theory of Colours, John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, David Ramsay Hay’s Nomenclature of Colors and Laws of Harmonious Colouring, Leon Battista Alberti’s On Painting, Michel-Eugène Chevreul and Charles Martel’s The principles of harmony and contrast of colours, and their applications to the arts, etc.) and I focused on two ideas, for this exhibition: firstly, the theorem of the four colours, according to which a number of four colours is sufficient in order to be able to draw a map, without having two bordering countries of the same colour. Secondly, one of the premises underlying the theory of complementarity, put forward by Emily Noyes Vanderpoel in her 1902 book Color Problems. A Practical Manual for the Lay Student of Color:

“The first, the Brewster theory, states that there are red, yellow, and blue colors; the second, the Young-Helmholtz theory, that there are three kinds of nerve fibrils in the retina, affected respectively by red, blue, and green, and their combination of the spectrum; while that of Hering is that in the eye there are three changeable visual substances which are increased or diminished accordingly as the rays of black and white, yellow and blue, or red and green, fall upon them.”

I am not trying to illustrate one of the historic theories on colour but am rather seeking to experiment and draw some conclusions empirically.

TECHNIQUE

For quite a while, I have been interested in rediscovering old techniques of dyeing cloth (batik) and of weaving fabrics or rugs (loom / embroidery, tufting or punch needle). Nevertheless, I am making rugs as a painter—my focus lies on composition, colour, texture; I am conceiving the object only in relation to its position in space, ignoring altogether its functionality.

GAME: TWISTER, RUBIK

On the one hand, I am referencing the game and playfulness in general as a way of working; and, specifically, those two games, because of their particular chromatics. In many cases, I am working in series, repeating schemes and reversing compositions—it is probably an echo of my passion for serialism in music.

SCENOGRAPHY

I probably should have started with this—my thinking unfolds primarily in relation to space. My paintings not only rest on their canvases, but are attempting to create their own “décor”. I am looking back, both with fondness and attention, at Kurt Schwitters’ Merzbau, Oskar Schlemmer’s costumes, Corbusier’s Cabanon and Prouvé’s modules.