Painting #93040 1993

Rudolf de Crignis made 'Painting #93040', we don't know when, with some kind of paint on canvas. At first glance, it’s all dark green, but spend some time with it and the painting starts to reveal itself, it’s all about subtlety. What at first seems to be a flat plane is actually very textured, almost velvety. The paint application is so even, the artist has really worked the surface, teasing out the colour. I’m interested in this kind of reductive approach, where the smallest gesture or tonal variation becomes monumental. It reminds me a little of Ad Reinhardt, whose "ultimate" black paintings were never really black at all, but complex fields of barely differentiated colour. De Crignis invites us into a similar space of quiet contemplation. There’s a humility to this kind of work, an openness to interpretation. It’s not shouting for attention, but rewards those who are willing to look closely.