Gunther Forg - Works from the Friedrichs Collection

Gunther Forg united the antagonistic extremes of modernism, perpetuating their unredeemed possibilities and keeping them alive. He stood on the brink of a present in which modernity hasn't been lost but remains as yet unaccomplished. In all their sensuality, Forg's paintings are "temporal images." They have a history which may be hidden but can always be felt beyond their ostensible abstractness. And his often small, simple and laconic gestures are elementarily human; they gain greatness due to their vulnerability... This book engages with the complete scope of Gunther Forg's oeuvre, driven by the passion of the collectors Brunhilde and Gunther Friedrichs. The main focus is on Forg's abstract paintings, which interrogate modernist art in loosely executed colorfields and patterns. With the rough surfaces of his masks, stelae and reliefs, Forg extends painting into the exhibition space, and with his wall paintings he turns that space itself into a work of art. In his photographs, he captures modernist architecture with the vibrancy of a snapshot, and in his exhibitions, he opens up a dialog between all these elements.