Günther Förg - Zwölf Bleibilder / Twelve Lead Paintings 1989

Günther Förg (1952-2013)

Günther Förg's beautifully produced, limited-edition book features twelve
large-format lead paintings from 1989. The oversized trim size and high
quality photographic reproductions convey an immediate and visceral
impression of the paintings at scale. Like his contemporary and onetime
collaborator Blinky Palermo, Förg dedicated himself to combining
traditions of American Minimalism with a rigorous conceptual and even
mystical underpinning. Förg s thinly painted wooden surfaces and
cloudy, layered palette have an enigmatic appeal, seemingly organic yet
countered by the painterly application of his strict geometric figurations.
In the words of fellow artist Max Weschler, The special color of the lead
[...] oscillating between iridescent gray and blue, seems like a darkly
threatening storm with its infinite gradations of gloom that coalesces in
a fine play upon natural and artificial patinas. Contributing essays by
Britta Schröder and Max Wechsler.