Christian F. Kintz
Color is a central theme for Christian F. Kintz (born 1968 in Freiburg, Germany). He applies several layers of paint to the canvas with a squeegee. He first selects the base color, then applies each subsequent color, layer by layer. The results are pictures with luminous and brilliant surfaces that seem monochrome and have a seductive haptic allure.
When moved across the canvas, the squeegee pushes the paint into bulges on one edge while pulling it away on the other, letting the deeper levels of color shine through on the sides. The thick layers of paint in these areas also provide clues as to how the work was made.
Kintz arranges his pictures of different sizes, formats, and colors into expansive groups, rhythmical series, and juxtapositions. The ratio of height to width of each picture is 8:7, and smaller, medium-sized, and larger pictures are also arranged so that the height and width of each picture is double that of the previous work. This technique enables viewers to relate pictures to one another and to the entire group. Through their physical presence and volume, the paintings acquire a three-dimensionality that transcends their flatness. His works are located somewhere between painting and working with found objects, and the influence of Minimal Art is obvious – in particular, in the reduction of the artist’s signature style through the monochrome effect and the serial arrangement of the works.
That Kintz recently began to work with cube- and beam-like structures is a natural progression in his working method, which is based on an investigation of space. The impulsive and gestural application of the paint highlights these works as visual phenomena, while also stressing their materiality. The different colors of paint run in all directions inside the cubes, sometimes bleeding together. In this way, the artist makes full use of the color’s potential, which ranges from opulent materiality to a reduction to pure color effects. The artist describes his goal as follows: “Color does not stand for a form; it is not flesh, it is not water, it is not light. It is not a symbol for anything outside itself. It is not a translation, and it remains untranslatable. It is not an illusion, nor a surface that covers up or creates another truth. It is its own fleeting truth.”
Dominique von Burg
When moved across the canvas, the squeegee pushes the paint into bulges on one edge while pulling it away on the other, letting the deeper levels of color shine through on the sides. The thick layers of paint in these areas also provide clues as to how the work was made.
Kintz arranges his pictures of different sizes, formats, and colors into expansive groups, rhythmical series, and juxtapositions. The ratio of height to width of each picture is 8:7, and smaller, medium-sized, and larger pictures are also arranged so that the height and width of each picture is double that of the previous work. This technique enables viewers to relate pictures to one another and to the entire group. Through their physical presence and volume, the paintings acquire a three-dimensionality that transcends their flatness. His works are located somewhere between painting and working with found objects, and the influence of Minimal Art is obvious – in particular, in the reduction of the artist’s signature style through the monochrome effect and the serial arrangement of the works.
That Kintz recently began to work with cube- and beam-like structures is a natural progression in his working method, which is based on an investigation of space. The impulsive and gestural application of the paint highlights these works as visual phenomena, while also stressing their materiality. The different colors of paint run in all directions inside the cubes, sometimes bleeding together. In this way, the artist makes full use of the color’s potential, which ranges from opulent materiality to a reduction to pure color effects. The artist describes his goal as follows: “Color does not stand for a form; it is not flesh, it is not water, it is not light. It is not a symbol for anything outside itself. It is not a translation, and it remains untranslatable. It is not an illusion, nor a surface that covers up or creates another truth. It is its own fleeting truth.”
Dominique von Burg
Born:
1968, Freiburg
1968, Freiburg
Works by Christian F. Kintz
