Studio wall rubbing 10. feb. 19, 1994 1994

Curator: Today, we are looking at Warren Rohrer’s “Studio wall rubbing 10. feb. 19, 1994” from 1994, a work created through the unique method of drawing rubbings. Editor: The overall impression I get is one of contained chaos. The high contrast between the light background and dark markings creates a busy visual field, a flurry of tiny, restless forms. Curator: Exactly. Rohrer's choice to work directly with the surface texture transforms the studio wall itself into a kind of printing plate. Note how the varied pressure and movement across the surface resulted in lines and points which are then registered, documenting this intimate interaction with place and time. Editor: And aren't walls often repositories of accumulated experience? Layers of paint, the incidental marks of daily life, creating a palimpsest of memories and associations. These small shapes almost read as cellular, evoking a biological field, but also astronomical events, all condensed within this one flat image. Curator: Indeed. There is a tension here, a dance between randomness and order. He exploits texture and process to create visual complexity. He prompts a field of associations within an abstracted landscape. Editor: Perhaps the wall acts as a mirror to the artist’s mind at a certain moment. It is February after all; the darkness of winter yielding to a potentiality for something new. I also find the very act of rubbing fascinating—a way of excavating, of bringing the unseen into view. Curator: I agree. This technique provides us with a new formal context through a material practice that focuses on transferring rather than simply creating. A unique act which results in abstract pattern and form. Editor: This approach creates a bridge to cultural memory – from the ancient practice of recording inscriptions to the simple pleasure of capturing the texture of a coin. Curator: Absolutely. Rohrer’s work is an intricate reminder of the capacity to find depth and complexity in the overlooked corners of the everyday. Editor: A reminder of how simple marks and processes can unlock such resonance. It's fascinating to see the ways he invites a dialogue between gesture and object.