Slow Painting: Alchemists and the motifs they scrutinize

The Morsbroich Museum in Leverkusen, Germany, is presenting “Slow Painting,” an exhibition  in which complex concepts and elaborate compositions converge, resulting in a deceleration of the painting process.

 “During the course of the 20th century, artists have extended the traditional boundaries of painting in a variety of ways. Long-term projects, such as On Kawara‘s well-known ‘Date Paintings’ or ‘Roman Opalka�s Details,’ with its continuous series of numbers, have introduced the idea of the project into the realm of slow painting….Recent figurative works by Alexander Esters and Sebastian Ludwig, developed especially for the exhibition, likewise explore the continuing delimitation of painting. Esters combines numerous, specially developed printing techniques using traditional components, whereas Ludwig sketches shapes onto canvases, which he then elaborately covers with tape, allowing the paint to flow over and behind the taped areas in a controlled process. These techniques presuppose a high degree of craftsmanship endowed with the power to captivate and fascinate the viewer both when scrutinising the motifs themselves and when reviewing the essence of the alchemistic means deployed.

“On no account does the exhibition desire to foster a sense of competition between slow and fast painting. Instead, ‘Slow Paintings’ is intent upon placing the emphasis on the special connection between conceptuality and elaborate composition, which entails a unique experience for the viewer: this isn’t merely concerned with extremely decelerated reception on the part of the viewer. More fascinating still is the apprehension of the way in which the complex ideas and the seemingly infinite number of layers of glaze resulting from this highly involved method are superimposed upon and, indeed, even conceal one another, ultimately surrendering the sharp, intellectual contours of their origin in favor of an unexpectedly rich, new physical identity. ‘Slow Paintings’ shows us in ideal-typical manner the abundant potential and continual inventiveness of painting.”(via Art Daily)

“Slow Painting,” curated by Fritz Emslander, Markus Heinzelmann und Stefanie Kreuzer. Morsbroich Museum, Leverkusen, Germany. Through February 7, 2010.

Artists include Tomma Abts, Ross Bleckner, Alighiero e Boetti, Micha�l Borremans, Gillian Carnegie, Ra�l Codero, John Currin, Alexander Esters, Bernard Frize, Franz Gertsch, Andrew Grassie, On Kawara, Konrad Klapheck, Jochen Kuhn, Sebastian Ludwig, Michel Majerus, Fabian Marcaccio, Rodney McMillian, Jonathan Monk, Reinhard Mucha, Manuel Ocampo, Roman Opalka, Laura Owens, Magnus Plessen, Ad Reinhardt, Bernd Ribbeck, Adrian Schiess, Pablo Siquier, Andreas Slominski, Cheyney Thompson, Corinne Wasmuht and Ekrem Yal�inda?.