Lot 42 D

In the course of his comprehensive, genre-spanning study of modern architecture, Günther Förg often uses architectural elements of graphic character – grids, stairs or windows – in his paintings and drawings. A particularly impressive, large-format painting from the work group of window pictures originating as from 1985 is on offer in the current auction.
Although identifiable as the motif of a window, Förg emphasises its abstract quality. The architectural element is transformed into a pure composition of geometrical shapes on the surface. The painterly style is thereby inscribed in the lines and surfaces, the points of contact and retraction and the free sweeping movements of the brush remain visible and make the painterly execution comprehensible, more as an act of craftsmanship than as an individual expression. ‘The hand of the of the artist has no weight, it does not hesitate, it hardly seems to feel anything; yet it remains agile, communicative, spontaneous, and sensual. It undoubtedly follows a plan. It makes use of simple elements for its execution, which look like fragments of wire fences, walls, grids, and so on. Once the painter has chosen such an element, there is no need for further iconographic or content considerations as in traditional modernism. […] The viewer perhaps still seeks the painter’s imprint by means of the traces of painting in the customary manner; it has, however, withdrawn as far as possible from the gesture of the painter as an expression of the soul. It hints at itself, but it reveals nothing of itself.’ (Siegfried Gohr, Günther Förg, make it new, Recklinghausen 2004, p.54)