Gotthard Graubner
Ohne Titel
1972
Oil on Japan paper on cardboard
65 × 40 cm / 25 9/16 × 15 3/4 in
Signed and dated »72«
We would like to thank Mrs. Kitty Kemr for the kind confirmation of the work’s authenticity and her kind assistance in researching the work
The artist’s studio; Galerie Albrecht, Oberplanitzing (South Tyrol) (since 1982)
- Galerie Ludorff, Neuerwerbungen Frühjahr 2021, Düsseldorf 2021
- Galerie Ludorff, "Neuerwerbungen Frühjahr 2021", Düsseldorf 2021, S. 56
More than almost any other German artist, Gotthard Graubner has explored the effect of colour on a wide variety of pictorial media in his non-representational paintings. By experimenting with colour, material and space, he created his "colour space bodies", for which he is widely known.
Although our work does not have a title, its inconspicuous appeal is captivating. The colours interact with the style and structure of the sheet to create a vibrancy. The artist uses Japanese paper to achieve this effect. As it is handmade and has no resin coating, it has the ability to absorb liquids very well. The work consists of several thin layers of paper, one on top of the other. The surface of the thin paper appears very fine and smooth. It creates a tension that is reminiscent of a tightly stretched cloth. This tension is also created by the slight curve of the sheet to the right in the lower half of the picture. This impression of physical tension can also be transferred to the viewer's perception.
The fine structures of the colour create an unavoidable inner movement in the motif, which has a direct effect on the viewer, in the sense of an inner agitation. Interestingly, this is ambivalent to the harmony and warmth of the reddish-brown colours. As the colours end with the lateral edges of the picture support, there is no real conclusion, whereby the motif and thus also the feeling in the viewer seem to literally spread and grow.
