Untitled (04.B.0122) 2004

Gunther Forg made this Untitled painting with, what looks like, pretty straightforward materials: paint on canvas. The colour palette is simple: red, black and the pale white of the ground. He’s playing with these blocks of colour, pushing and pulling them into place. It feels immediate, like Forg was figuring things out as he went, letting the process guide him. Look at the surface, you can see the texture of the brushstrokes, especially in the black area. There’s no attempt to smooth it all out, it’s all about the physicality of the paint. I’m drawn to the way the red rectangles aren’t perfect. They’re a bit wobbly, a bit uneven, and this makes the painting feel so alive. Forg’s other works, especially his photographs of modernist architecture, have a similar kind of tension. Think of Blinky Palermo, another German artist who was interested in how simple forms can create complex effects. Art is like a conversation, and this painting feels like a really interesting statement.