Franz Rentsch

Miriam Albert on the works of Franz Rentsch

Form and shape have crossed the boundary of dissolution, they have leaped into the state of liquid. Sometimes the eye believes it can briefly grasp something, a field of color seems to blur into something familiar, but then it immediately slips away again, allowing itself to glide into the energetically shimmering field of the picture. A contemplation, a letting go, a beguiling oneself.

Where Norse mythological narratives originally served as the starting point for lush, meaningful images, the paintings have now gained a lighter quality, often focusing on individual hues. Airy spaces open up, and some images even consist largely of spaces. Yet they remain very dense. Time and again, they succeed in capturing and channeling the primal forces inherent in the myths.

Coverings, masking, and the subsequent unveiling are the foundations of an experimental game of overlay and underlay. Sheets of foil and pieces of tape cover sections of the primed canvas; liquid paint runs underneath as the artist paints, pools, and sometimes dries in puddles. Supposedly disruptive factors are paved the way as stylistic devices; they are welcomed into the work process and integrated into a dialogue. Following alien principles, unpredictable effects and idiosyncratic forms emerge while painting.

Free painting is a process with an uncertain outcome. Engaging in it—just as contemplating the paintings—requires great openness, curiosity, and even daring. It's as if embarking on an excursion into unfamiliar territory, and the map is initially just a single blank spot—namely, the canvas itself. Just as painting resembles walking through a landscape, the resulting painting can be read as a protocol-like excursion report or as a cartographic note. Thus, it's probably no coincidence that the paintings are painted on the floor, at ground level.

And again and again, moments of irritation arise. Almost overlooked, they unexpectedly break with the pictorial order into which the eye had already believed itself to fit. Suddenly, something else flashes forth from beneath the surface, a fleeting glimpse into an underworld. It is precisely these moments, however, that truly make the picture a picture. Although, or perhaps precisely because, they are disconcerting, they also form focal points and points of calm. They round out the picture in its lightness and enigmatic quality, making it profound and literally multi-layered, not easy to grasp.