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Lot Essay
Frank Nitsche, born in Gørlitz (former GDR) in 1968, is one of the most celebrated living German post-modern abstract artists on the international scene. During the years of the fall of the Berlin Wall he was a student at the College of Fine Arts in Dresden. Today he lives and works in Berlin.
His recent series of paintings, which are compositions of densely arranged abstract surfaces, is a result of a continuous process of reworking. The starting point is a framework of lines that is drawn on the canvas and then filled with colours that often seem cold, dull and chalky. Some of the painted areas are ground with sandpaper in order to reveal the colours and the linear structure that lie beneath. This creates a special contrast between clear and flat segments and the suggestion of multi-layered depth. In this way the preliminary stages and subsequent process can be sensed in the finished work. At first glance the works may seem refined or even created on a computer screen but when viewed closed, all the imperfections and wobbles of a freehand working method are revealed: the authentic drips and the imperfect linear lines prove that his works are real action paintings.
The end result of these compositions is a collision of angles and surfaces, a crisscross of lines and loops that create a complicated, twisted, and vaguely architectural structure. The visual effects achieved from these works vary from viewer to viewer: some see them as fast lanes and highways, while others are seduced by the possibility of finding recognizable images within the forms. However, at a certain point we realize that nothing here is content. It is all pure form, and each shape breaks down, offering no useful clue to its referent but just a sensation of contrast between high-gloss technology and the idea of dirt and destruction. Although void of narrative elements, these works reflect images collected by the artist, photo albums that he has compiled throughout the years.
His recent series of paintings, which are compositions of densely arranged abstract surfaces, is a result of a continuous process of reworking. The starting point is a framework of lines that is drawn on the canvas and then filled with colours that often seem cold, dull and chalky. Some of the painted areas are ground with sandpaper in order to reveal the colours and the linear structure that lie beneath. This creates a special contrast between clear and flat segments and the suggestion of multi-layered depth. In this way the preliminary stages and subsequent process can be sensed in the finished work. At first glance the works may seem refined or even created on a computer screen but when viewed closed, all the imperfections and wobbles of a freehand working method are revealed: the authentic drips and the imperfect linear lines prove that his works are real action paintings.
The end result of these compositions is a collision of angles and surfaces, a crisscross of lines and loops that create a complicated, twisted, and vaguely architectural structure. The visual effects achieved from these works vary from viewer to viewer: some see them as fast lanes and highways, while others are seduced by the possibility of finding recognizable images within the forms. However, at a certain point we realize that nothing here is content. It is all pure form, and each shape breaks down, offering no useful clue to its referent but just a sensation of contrast between high-gloss technology and the idea of dirt and destruction. Although void of narrative elements, these works reflect images collected by the artist, photo albums that he has compiled throughout the years.