Ausstellung

Forbidden Colours

10.2.2010-30.6.2020

‘Forbidden Colours’ might at first seem a strange title for an exhibition showing works of art which are predominantly defined by their colour effect. Of course, they are not illicit but commonly perceived as taboo, along the lines of ‘Blue and green should never be seen’. In these works, the colours and their effects go beyond the limits of what is conventionally permissible and possible, hence the title.

Dittmar Danner aka Krüger uses colours that evoke a special visual experience in the viewer through their relationship with each other. At times the colours seem to radiate like in a neon advertisement. They begin to glow and develop a life of their own. These colour signals are then caught in a strictly geometrically limited space. The resulting coloured light space enables the viewer to see spatial depths as well as to recognise framed coloured areas. The key to this is always the colour, its surroundings and its geometric constraints.

Dirk Rathke works with colour through form, too. His coloured canvases which are stretched convex or concave over frames develop very subtle colour effects due to their curved surfaces. Barely perceptible layers of colour and curved surfaces often only become apparent after longer viewing. The resulting colours are more likely to be surmised than seen. They are there and yet not there. They go beyond the scope of the normal and provoke the question whether this is possible or admissible.

"The key to this is always the colour, its surroundings and its geometric constraints."

In both cases there is a clear answer to the question: Yes, it is. The displayed use of colour expands the space and in turn uses it for the variation and statement of colour. This pushes the boundaries of the possible and opens up new perspectives.

Impressions from the exhibition

Werkstättengalerie, Exhibition Forbiden Colours, © art Rathke/Danner, © Photo Lothar Sprenger