Jus Juchtmans – Lars Strandh
Two European Positions in Minimalist Painting
Jus Juchtmans – Lars Strandh
Two European Positions in Minimalist Painting
Exhibition from May 14 to July 30, 2022
Opening: Friday, May 13, 2022, 6 to 8 pm
Matinee: Saturday, May 14, 2022, 12 to 4 pm
Both artists will be present at the vernissage.
Under the title "Two European Positions in Minimalist Painting" we are showing current works by the artists Jus Juchtmans from Antwerp and Lars Strandh from Olso.
Jus Juchtmans was born in 1952 in Mortsel, Belgium. He lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
The glossy paintings of Jus Juchtman are monochromatic only at first sight. Applied with a squeegee to the canvas, each of the numerous layers of paint are clearly visible at the edges of his works. It is this transparency that opens up the pictorial space, an effect that is intensified by the reflection of light. The artist's keen sense for what can arise through reduction - a “letting go” in the creation process - led to the paintings that he first showed in the spring of 2022 in Munich. In these works Jus Juchtmans recognized that the dissolution of materiality and the emergence of “absolute painting” could at times be achieved after applying just a few layers. The resulting works, also those shown here, seem to breathe, and the viewer is uncertain whether they are emerging or vanishing. The glossy surface interacts directly with their surroundings; they reflect within themselves and thus become what Michael Fehr referred to as the “transitory part of the pictorial event.” With his oscillating creations, Jus Juchtman has positioned himself as one of the most prominent artists in the sphere of monochrome painting in Europe.
Lars Strandh was born in 1961 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He lives and works in Oslo, Norway.
In the course of the last twenty years, the Swedish artist Lars Strandh has painted several hundred thousand lines in his distinctive manner. The concentration and precision required for this painting method can be immediately recognized. From a distance the paintings can appears to be monochromatic works but they are in fact polychromatic. His finely painted brushstrokes form a clearly defined color field on the unprimed linen canvas. Viewed up close, the lines begin to oscillate. They create a color space - at times calm, at times vibrating - developed from the contrast of light and dark and from the choice of complementary colors. The works emanates a stillness that invites contemplation but also reflection. The simplicity is very complex and makes the paintings totally experiential. The more time you give to Strandh’s painting the more will be given back to you. Thus, Lars Strandh can be seen in the tradition of those minimalist artists who investigate the phenomenon color in its many forms.
