“Retrospectively, the reason for the continued importance of Förg’s oeuvre becomes clear. The evolution of his direct, subjective engagement with the aesthetic of the sublime—conducted without fear of stereotypical taboos—oscillates between appropriation and homage, yet Förg does so without any ironic quotations or other such cheap distancing techniques. Instead, he throws mythical ballast overboard and appropriates picture-making strategies in a way that makes them look new”
Executed in 2003, Untitled exemplifies Günther Förg’s expert manipulation of colour and space, creating stunningly evocative works within the confines of the canvas. At first glance, one can acknowledge the overt influence of Modernism and Abstract Expressionism, which Förg re-envisaged through his distinctive visual language. His affiliation with colour and composition closely references the works of Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. However, Förg, by contrast to the American artists, divorces himself from the auratic and the sublime. Instead, his swift, fluent paintings are manifestations of pure concept, neither concerned with method nor with defense of style. This attitude gives the paintings a delightful lightness which, in the context of the history of abstract art, makes them curiously controversial. In the artist’s own words, “Newman and Rothko attempted to rehabilitate in their works a unity and an order that for them had been lost ... For me, abstract art today is what one sees and nothing more” (Gunther Förg, cited in: Exh. Cat., Newport Beach, Newport Harbor Art Museum, Günther Förg: Painting / Sculpture / Installation, 1989, p. 6).
Photo © Digital Image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence
Artwork © The Barnett Newman Foundation, New York / DACS, London 2022
Untitled serves as a definitive example of Förg’s work within the canon of abstraction, bringing to light the evolution of the form and cementing his role in its history. In the present work, the chromatic palette is limited to orange and black, employing minimal and elemental compositional devices to reduce the work to a pure essence. From the late 1980s, Förg paid homage to Rothko and his colour field theory, by creating large planes of flat, solid colour, spread across areas of an unbroken surface. Using Rothko’s ideology, Förg unveils his personal interpretation within his own works, favouring the differing textural qualities of the material over Rothko’s intent for continuity within the process.
By defining abstraction as an expression among many others, Förg reoriented the dialogue for minimalist art and situated himself amongst the most significant artists of the 20th Century. Untitled hence stands as a visual test.mes
nt to the empathic nature of Förg’s artistry, as a test.mes
nt to his stylistic ingenuity, and as a confirmation of his innovative creative approach, focusing on the materiality of art in its most untreated state. In the captivating grandeur of Untitled, the purity of colour and form are laid bare for us as a visual puzzle that epitomises the very best of Förg’s artistic synergies.