On both sides of the Atlantic artists, in the early 1960s, started to question Abstract Expressionism or Informell and their subjective and emotional foundations.
These inquiries led to a paring down to the essentials of art making. Simple geometric forms, serial or other systems, a focus on real objects in real space and a general clarity of form were not only typical for works of the so called “minimal artists” but can also be found within a wider circle of European and American artists.
The exhibition brings together a selection of works from international artists who began to explore the essence of materials and forms showing that the formal clarity and simplicity of a work does not reduce the complexity of its perception. Or as Robert Morris put it “Simplicity of shape does not necessarily equate with simplicity of experience”. While some artists focused on cool and clean geometric shapes and the various possibilties of their arrangments, others were more open to the poetic properties of materials like wood, iron or paper. Both of these approaches share a quest for the essence even as they differ in temperature.
