Jamais vu 2005

Giulio Paolini made "Jamais vu" with blank canvases and wooden frames, constructing a piece of work that is cool and almost architectural. The off-white canvases have this amazing, subtle texture, like skin stretched tight over the bones of the stretcher bars. You can really get a sense of the physicality and the possibilities of the canvas before anything is put on it. Look at the way the canvases all cascade together, creating a kind of wave frozen in time. What does it mean to have this frozen moment of potentiality? It makes me think of Piero Manzoni and his 'Achrome' works using white kaolin - they both have a similar concern with the materials of art making. Paolini seems to be reminding us that art isn't just about the final image, but about the whole process, the materials, and even the potential for what could be. It's a refreshing take on what art can be, something open and questioning rather than fixed and resolved.