Forg solo exhibition underway at Long Museum
"Untitled," 2002, acrylic on canvas
The first major solo museum exhibition of Gunther Forg (1952-2013) in Asia is underway at the Long Museum.
Titled "Trunk Road and Branch Roads," the exhibition brings together 76 paintings created throughout the artist's career, focusing entirely on his painting practice and hallmark series, such as his "Spot," "Grid" and "Gary" series.
The exhibition opens with two of Forg's largest paintings: triptychs that both date from 2005. Unfurling horizontally and appearing like a massive wall of colors, they are examples from his iconic series of "Grid" paintings that are at once non-representational and evocative of landscapes.
In the monumental "Untitled" (2005), the gray priming coat is exposed in broad, cloudy bands. Bold crosshatching in bright green, pink and apricot pushes out from the depths into the open.
Born in Fussen, Germany, Forg was one of the most significant German artists of the post-war generation. A prolific painter, sculptor, graphic designer, and photographer, Forg is renowned for his experimental and radical oeuvre that deeply engaged with the modernist tradition.
"Untitled," 2008, acrylic and oil on canvas
The exhibition also includes Forg's rarely seen "Air Varnish" series from 1993, an extended investigation of materiality, with geometric compositions painted using pigmented, semi-translucent varnish applied with irregular, fluid gestures. Using unconventional supports and materials for his painted works, such as fabric, lead, molded copper, aluminum, and air varnish – Forg blurred the lines between painting and sculpture.
Thinly applied, Forg's colors have a specific tonality which reveals their intrinsic light, as in a set of works using translucent polyester in which pigment is applied on to still-liquid lacquer. Floating on the surface, airy streaks of pigment are juxtaposed with concentrated areas of color in over-painted sections. For example, "Untitled (1993) [4]" is intersected by a brown vertical column, separating blocks of honey-yellow pigment that swirl up in vertical strokes.
"Untitled," 1993, air varnish on canvas
Exhibition info:
Date: Through October 25 (close on Mondays), 10am-6pm
Venue: Long Museum West Bund
Address: 3398 Longteng Ave
龙腾大道3398号
