FRANK GERRITZ | KIYOSHI'S DREAM
Press Release
Frank Gerritz is well known for his abstract minimal sculptural works and pencil drawings, in which he has developed a rigorous and precise geometrical language wherein each work relates to one another and leads to the next. Works in the medium pencil on paper, oil paintstick on paper, pencil on MDF, and oil paintstick on aluminum, all clearly exist within the universe of this language.
Of specific focus in this, his 6th solo show with the gallery, are the pencil works, both on paper and MDF, that feature an accumulation of minute applied horizontal and vertical strokes built up over many layers to create a distinct luminous surface both deeply absorbing and reflective. The works become related to the space around them through the unique modulation of natural and artificial light dispersed on the field of graphite. Nuanced marks and movements are discerned within the whole, culminating in an eminent presence.
“They’re made to be looked into” observes the artist, “That’s what part of my work is about, showing light in the darkness.”
The special character of light Gerritz relates is not the whole story, rather the play of light in concert with the expression of relationships of volume and line. The surface takes form as space occupied and that left vacant, where the positive occupation of space becomes absolute as well as defined by its negative. A clarity of intention comes through in the rigor of Gerritz’s execution, leaving no room for ambiguity, “My work is not about perfection, but about precision”.
Frank Gerritz, born in Hamburg in 1964, was awarded the 2010 Edwin Scharff Prize. Frank Gerritz has been exhibiting globally for nearly three decades, and major institutional exhibitions in Europe have confirmed his invaluable contribution to the contemporary art discourse. His works have been exhibited in large solo presentations in museums such as the Weserburg, Bremen (2008 and 2010), the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (2009), the Hamburger Kunsthalle (2011) and the Musée Tavet-Delacour, Pontoise (2011).