Beschreibung:

GÜNTHER FÖRG (1952-2013)Untitled
2008
signed and dated 08
oil and acrylic on canvas
120.5 by 160.2 cm.
47 7/16 by 63 1/16 in.
FootnotesThis work is recorded in the archive of the Estate Günther Förg, Frankfurt under no. WVF.08.B.0087
We thank Mr. Michael Neff from the Estate of Günther Förg for the information he has kindly provided on this work.
Provenance
Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, Innsbruck (För/M 080006)
Galerie Lelong, Zürich
Massimo De Carlo, Milan
Private Collection, Los Angeles
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
Innsbruck, Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, GÜNTHER FÖRG - Die Trilogie der Tatzen, 2009
Untitled from 2008 is a superbly luminous example from the internationally celebrated and highly coveted Tupfenbilder (Spot Paintings) series that Günther Förg created between 2005 and 2010. By displaying an abstract array of vibrant colour, ranging from deep greens to light pinks, applied with different densities, Förg created the harmonious and playful composition seen in the present work. The Tupfenbilder series was initially inspired by a photograph of Francis Bacon's studio, which, in an attempt to remove excess paint from his paintbrush, Bacon had covered wall to ceiling in scribbles of paint; a process that was very familiar to Förg. In this manner, Förg gives the viewer an insight into an artist's intimate practice of cleaning their brush, and makes the unseen seen in a daring reversal of an age old artistic practice; a true glimpse at an artist's 'behind the scenes'.
This beautifully composed work carries with it a full range of intoxicatingly compelling characteristics. The spots of various colours, together formulate an ornamental melody of light. While Förg never created a formal pattern, the present work contains an underlying geometric characteristic to it, generating a strange balance of loose and whimsical colours with intricate patches of brushwork. Decisive, emotive, controlled, haphazard and temperamental, Förg's technique of applying tone to the plain canvas worked towards averting a recognisable pattern. The brushstroke itself becomes the focus of the work, or the leading role, expressing Förg's method of tackling the very limits of composition and colour. By applying paint on the canvas in a rhythmic fashion, as if painting a wall – up and down – yet with varying speed, pressure and even thickness of the paint, Förg created a musical symphony with elusive energy and simultaneous casual looseness. Art Historian Christian Malycha puts him into context as follows: 'Günther Förg pushed himself to the brink of discord—but only to preserve art in a precarious state of balance: Balance between the traditions of the past and the needs of the present. Balance between austere rationalism and ardent sensuality. Balance between rigor and wit. Balance between composition and turmoil. Balance between pure artistic means and societal representation. Balance between conceptualism and corporeality.' (Christian Malycha in: Hauser & Wirth, Günther Förg Tupfenbilder, hauserwirth.com, 2023)
In order to release the energy of the brushstrokes and their respective colours onto the canvas, figuration had to be permanently removed, allowing for the purest form, energy and colour to appear. Often compared to Piet Mondrian, with his grids of vibrant colours, Mondrian used his abstraction to create clean and beautiful purity, by removing completely the link to figuration. Similarly, Förg strove solemnly for this pure representation of colour and gesture. As said by the artist himself, "For me, abstract art today is what one sees and nothing more" (the artist in: Newport Beach, Günther Förg: Painting/Sculpture/Installation, California 1989, p. 6)
Considered today as one of the most important artists in Germany's Post-War generation, Förg studied at the Academy of Fine Art in Munich, where his practice developed almost exclusively in grey and black monochrome. Throughout the five decades of his career, Förg's work spanned an extremely wide range of practices where he swiftly moved between mediums and series, constantly wrestling with the feeling of disillusionment with painting and his unbreakable ties to modernism. The initiation of his practice through a focus on monochromatic minimalism is a clear representation of the foundation for which Förg formulated his oeuvre. His early concentration on his Gitter (grid) paintings demonstrate the start of his lifelong dedication to conceptualism. Today, works by Günther Förg are held in collections worldwide such as the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, the Kunstmuseum Bonn, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museum Für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt among others. Untitled from 2008 is a masterful composition and a whimsical paradigm of Günther Förg's oeuvre, with its lyrical brushstrokes and array of expressive colours, it serves as a true testament to Förg's artistic genius, captivating audiences globally.