Olivier Malingue is pleased to present IN ABSENTIA, a group exhibition including works by Nobuyoshi Araki, Jean Fautrier, Lucio Fontana, Anish Kapoor, among several others.
‘In absentia’ is a latin term that literally translates as ‘in the absence’ or ‘while absent.’ Fundamentally, the concepts of presence and absence are diametrically opposed, yet the term addresses the liminal space found between the two concepts: presence does not necessarily negate absence, nor does absence necessarily negate presence.
This indeterminate position between the dichotomy of presence and absence, whether one asserts or negates the other, is the unifying thread that runs through this exhibition, expanding the concept of ‘in absentia’ to address varied artistic and aesthetic properties.
The limited, or indeed complete absence of, color palette in all the works in the exhibition embrace the liminality of chroma in absentia. This is apparent on a more immediate level in the works by Pierre Soulages and Lucio Fontana, where the limited palette asserts an alternative present; in the former, it is the compositional qualities that are brought to the fore, in the latter, the monochromatic intensity draws attention to its materiality. In Jacob Kassay’s silver electro-plated canvases, the concept of chroma in absentia resides more prevalently in the idea of what is colour itself. The work is technically achromatic, not utilising any form of pigment, yet the canvas takes on a nuanced palette through the electro-chemical process: colour is technically absent, yet abundantly present.
Artists: Nobuyoshi Araki, Jean Fautrier, Lucio Fontana, Sheree Hovsepian, Anish Kapoor, Jacob Kassay, Robert Longo, Adam McEwen, Makoto Ofune, Pierre Soulages, Robert Therrien and Christopher Wool.