Kuno Gonschior

NOVALIS: What Would I Be Without You?

February 7 - March 8, 2008

Installation view
 

Novalis L - I, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  47 x 39 in (119 x 99 cm)

Novalis X - I, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  79 x 39 in (200 x 99 cm)

Novalis L - VIII, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  47 x 39 in (119 x 99 cm)

Novalis X - VIII, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  79 x 75 in (200 x 190.5 cm)

Novalis X - VI,  2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  79 x 75 in (200 x 99 cm)

Installation view

Installation view
 

Novalis X - III, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  79 x 75 in (200 x 190.5 cm)

Novalis X - II, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  79 x 75 in (200 x 190.5 cm)

Novalis L - II, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  47 x 39 in (119 x 99 cm)

Novalis L - IV, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  47 x 39 in (119 x 99 cm)

Installation view
 

Novalis X - V, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas, 79 x 75 in (200 x 190 cm)

Novalis L - II, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  47 x 39 in (119 x 99 cm)

Novalis L - X, 2007, Gel, acrylic on canvas,  47 x 39 in (119 x 99 cm)

Stux Gallery is pleased to present our second solo exhibition by master painter Kuno Gonschior who, in this later stage of his career, brings to us a new and exciting body of paintings that proves once again Gonschior’s work’s endless vitality and expandability.

Described as a ‘pointillist abstract expressionist’ and as a ‘radical minimalist’, Gonschior has been pointed to in the past as a confluence between George Seurat and Mark Rothko. This comparison reveals the complexity of placing his work alongside his contemporaries due to the fact that his works convey both strongly emotive and analytical impulses. Gonschior’s selection of the 18th century poet Novalis for the show’s namesake, therefore, is both apt and purposely misleading. While the precision displayed in his use of paint, and the undeniable appreciation for color theory his palette shows does suggest conceptual underpinnings – his process is actually based significantly on intuition and an innate sensitivity to the visual.

Working on a monumental scale, each painting is composed of thousands of paint ‘dabs’ in richly saturated, pure color tones. The proximity of these spots vary from dense to sparse and gradations between fields of color are executed with both ease and directness. Gonschior’s works are often described as ‘landscapes’ due to the artificial perception of space and light his color combinations effect. The individuality of each piece is emphasized by their notable sculptural quality found in Gonschior’s liberal paint application and his maximization of the subtle beauty of the raw canvas linen itself. Indeed, their physicality has a distinctly sensual edge. Viewers are invited to lose themselves in Gonschior’s ephemeral planes of beautiful, intangible of color.