Sculptural objects by Sarah Pichlkostner and installations by Saskia Noor Van Imhoff confront the graphic works of Donald Judd and Arnulf Rainer at the Arnulf Rainer Museum. The distinctly unique approaches of these very different artistic personalities become evident in the intimacy of the etchings and woodcuts by Rainer and Judd, as well as in the works by Sarah Pichlkostner and Saskia Noor van Imhoff, who utilize space, light, and a marked reduction of form and material.
Donald Judd strives for precise balance, always seeking the perfect equilibrium of color, line, surface, and form. Van Imhoff shares this structured approach. She merges her affinity for design with a minimalist use of materials – for instance, by incorporating two chairs designed by Judd directly into one of her installations. With her spatially influenced installations, the Amsterdam-based artist touches and draws upon art collections and systems of order. Layer by layer, like an archaeologist, she exposes the hidden systems and processes behind the presentation of works of art.
Conversely, Arnulf Rainer’s work is shaped by powerful directness, his forcefully dynamic stroke and fluid colors symbolize the primordial and the uncontrollable. Pichlkostner connects Arnulf Rainer’s methods with a spontaneous, experimental artistic exploration of form. Rainer’s abstract, light, airy etchings hover in a state of suspension similar to Pichlkostner’s sculptural spatial drawings. In her works, Sarah Pichlkostner explores the tensions that arise when opposites engage in communication with one another. Her sculptures, which often extend several meters across a room, draw on traditional materials from the medium of sculpture: metal, stone and glass. In addition, she works with elements of light and language, also employing older techniques such as silverized glass. The boundaries of space and objects offset each other in her sculptures, and time, too, is suspended.
This extraordinary encounter was conceptualized by renowned museum director and exhibition organizer Rudi Fuchs together with Maarten Bertheux.
