free dimensional: Bach. Gratzer. Schirmer

In his abstract paintings, Enrico Bach, often in bright, intense colours, pits spatiality and surface against each other. Strictly geometric shapes and surfaces are superimposed on one another, hinting at the possibility of a space that remains mysteriously concealed. The artist plays with the illusion of a uniform pictorial space, which he repeatedly dissolves. In doing so, he is concerned with questions of how the image-constituting application of colour material can be organised on the image carrier and what compositional possibilities are available if these are not predetermined by a motif that is to be depicted. These considerations are based on a long tradition in art history, the origins of which can be traced back to both Constructivism and Minimal Art. His mostly large-format works undermine the concept of ‘flatness’ propagated by Clement Greenberg and develop a depth of space without leaving the terrain of colour surface painting. It is precisely these contradictions between superficial two-dimensionality and spatial construction, between non-representational surface and the representational feel of a painted materiality that make Enrico Bach's artistic work so exciting. With the simplest vocabulary of forms and a sophisticated technique, the artist opens up new visual experiences for the viewer. (Julia Nebenführ)

At first glance, Aurelia Gratzer's paintings appear to be a closed system of surfaces, lines and structures, appearing dense, rich in contrast, almost industrial. Sometimes an accent of bright colour flashes into the depths, a bright metallic surface stands out. Even the finest line constructions facilitate surfaces, vanishing points lead us perfidiously astray. Surfaces in their relationship to each other could be spaces. However, in their perception, viewers develop points of reference to reality, memories of spatial constellations, objects in space. But every urge to complete what has been laid out in the viewer's mind is torpedoed by the painter; the compositional structure, seemingly so clear, is obscured in order to clarify it for the painting, to guide the viewer's vision, to make it pause and to give room for irritation. And suddenly there is depth. The balance of memories of space, architecture and object is deceptively disturbed. This seems to be a balustrade, here a wall leads to the back, a railing, a grid, a wall, what comes to the front, what leads to the back, where is the remaining space, can you even stand there - no, these are spatial constructions, not spaces for people. Because there is no depth at all. It's just painting. (Andreas Hoffer)

Exploring the laws of painting solely through colour on canvas is the driving force behind Christoph Schirmer's work. His pictures are peppered with painterly contrasts: Abstract gestural brushstrokes, which make the author of the work recognisable, are covered by precise graphic structures. The marker is used as a painting medium in the same way as acrylic paint or varnish. By deliberately emphasising the untreated canvas, Schirmer's canvases radiate a lightness and at the same time often have the opposite effect due to the densely worked areas - namely a painterly heaviness. By consistently avoiding a clearly recognisable fixed point, the picture vibrates and, through the unsteady exploration of the eye, reveals to the viewer manifold interpretations of the forms depicted. The network of differentiated, often geometric surfaces provides a spatiality that seems to anchor the spontaneous gesture through its predetermined form, not to say restrict it. (Eva-Maria Bechter)