Berthold Pott, Cologne
The project features a sculptural installation by Samuel Francois juxtaposed with paintings by Max Frintrop.
Max Frintrop’s (b. 1982) works address the issue of the painting as an illusory space. His compositions establish a relationship between geometric forms and pictorial space, whereby the forms can barely be distinguished from the space and vice versa, so that the borders between these become dissolved. In addition to the basic geometric elements in his paintings, colour and the various techniques used in the application of paint also play an important role: colour gradients, the condensation and absence of colour, large brushstrokes, and microscopic particles of colour exist parallel with each other and thus create an ambivalent visual vocabulary of contrasts, which, however, come together to form a coherent whole.
Samuel Francois (b. 1977) also addresses the issue of space, whereby his sculptural installations are conceptually based on the genre of the interior. The artist places his works within the exhibition situation as they might be found within a conventional interior: the abstracted forms of his ‘chair sculptures’ refer to furniture (chairs and sofas), while his panel pictures – also in abstracted form – are reminiscent of windows (frame, mullion and transom, vista).
The historic parallels drawn between paintings and windows (view, vista) and the creation of a viewing situation through the placement of the ‘chair sculptures’ create an exhibition situation revolving around questions relating to viewing perspectives and the self-perception of art.