Günter Umberg, No title, 2018. Poliment pigment and dammar on MDF, 29.7 x 24.5cm. Courtesy: the artist and Fox Jensen Gallery, Sydney.

Günter Umberg’s paintings seem to banish all visible signals of light. What remains amidst the carbony residue that comprise these compelling paintings is the last flicker of illumination, the final grains of radiance. It is at this point, one of statistical blackness – that light’s absence, sound’s absence and form’s apparent absence impels an inversion where we first register the other side…acid moves to alkaline. We sense light, perceive presence and feel form.

On first sight his works seem to assert a deep physiological refusal. Their apparent closure seems to speak to absence rather than address presence. They resolutely avoid all attempts to encourage recognition or at least its passive confusion with knowledge. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

This is Umberg’s fifth solo exhibition with the gallery, and his works have been vital to many of the projects that have defined the spirit of Fox Jensen.

The gallery is open and adhering to social distancing measures.

For more information, visit Fox Jensen’s website here.

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