Horizonts IV 2008

Jurgen Partenheimer created 'Horizonts IV' in a way that feels like a serene experiment. The canvas hums with a monochromatic blue, punctuated by these soft, cloud-like shapes, and a black almost architectural line. I can imagine Partenheimer working, maybe he started with a wash of that intense blue, like he was setting the stage for a dream. Then came the shapes; you can almost feel the lightness of the pigment, how it hovers on the surface. The black lines are not quite enclosing these hazy forms, but rather acting as a structure, a skeleton almost, for something more organic and free-flowing. They remind me a little of Agnes Martin's grids, but with a touch more…humor? It’s like Partenheimer is inviting us to consider the relationship between control and chance, between the planned and the unexpected. He is a reminder that artists are always in conversation with each other, picking up threads and weaving new stories. Painting is a way of asking questions, not necessarily answering them, and there's something so freeing about that.