Nr 18 2020

Curator: Look at this drawing, "Nr 18," made in 2020 by Armin Andreas Pangerl, using mixed media, ink, and primarily on paper. It strikes me as an exploration of abstraction and calligraphy. Editor: It's busy, almost chaotic! The linework feels like it’s trying to contain something bursting to get out. There’s this playful, almost childlike use of color popping amidst all the serious ink strokes. Curator: I see that. Pangerl seems to be building worlds on paper, a mashup of hard-edged structures contrasted with fluid text. There are personal writings mixed with visual elements. You see blocks of blue, red and green colors as counterpoints for example. Editor: Right, the written parts. Are those diary entries intertwined with cityscapes? It makes you wonder what his day-to-day was like at the time. The blend feels so… intimate. It reminds me of automatic writing, allowing the unconscious mind to take over. Curator: That's interesting because when we analyze the context in which this piece was created, that stream-of-consciousness element might tell us a lot about the experience of confinement. You sense the tension, the anxiety, but also the creative release the artist finds in breaking free within these self-imposed borders. Editor: Borders, absolutely. It's all about the interplay between control and chaos. Even the simple forms like houses or buildings are so complex, drawn over and over with the words. I guess, like a mind under pressure, a locked box of emotions that wants to explode. Curator: There's such rawness to that honesty. The way he layers text and image, the sense of urgency, all point to artmaking as a way of making sense during times of intense stress and change. Editor: You know, diving deep into this piece, you begin to recognize echoes of ourselves within it. We see our own hidden anxieties and yearnings represented here. It goes beyond art, maybe a portrait of ourselves? Curator: It definitely gives pause to reflect. I find that "Nr 18" invites us to appreciate both the planned structures in our lives, and our scribbled lines where we draw connections that shape meaning.