Horizonts IV 2008

Jurgen Partenheimer created Horizonts IV with paint, and the result is more about process than product, don’t you think? There’s this incredible blue that feels like it’s been layered and built up over time, almost like the sedimentary layers you see in rock formations. Then these soft, cloud-like forms appear to be floating in that blue. It’s all really tactile. The black lines act like a grid, suggesting a structure, but they also have this handmade quality, wavering a little, as if the artist is thinking aloud on the canvas. Notice how the paint isn’t trying to hide itself, it’s a celebration of itself as a material. This kind of exploration of form and color reminds me a little of Sean Scully’s work. Both artists create this sense of depth through layering and texture. It feels like looking at something that is both very simple and endlessly complex at the same time, and that’s what keeps me coming back for another look.