Ich Nicht VIII 2006

Curator: This is "Ich Nicht VIII" created by Imi Knoebel in 2006. Painted with acrylic, its use of stark geometric forms reminds me of early Modernist ideas around geometric abstraction. What strikes you? Editor: The colors! The bold primary hues really pop. The smooth surface is eye-catching, creating the impact of an industrial material, even though it's hand-painted acrylic. It almost looks as though it were assembled rather than painted. Curator: I agree. Knoebel is engaging with the legacy of movements like Neo-Plasticism but infusing it with a postmodern sensibility. The title, "Ich Nicht," meaning "I Not," perhaps hints at the artist’s withdrawal from the work, giving autonomy to form and color? Considering this piece through a framework of absence feels compelling. Editor: I'm intrigued by your focus on "absence." The title speaks volumes about authorship, but I'm equally drawn to how the materiality of these large planes directs labor and consumption. We’re so used to surfaces that mimic perfection, yet these bear traces of being handmade. It brings into question artistic intervention itself. Curator: Precisely! Knoebel is, in effect, performing and critiquing art history. How does an artist engage with a formal language tied to utopian ideals after the grand narratives of modernity have collapsed? The title implicates the artist and thus engages in a critical deconstruction of the genre. Editor: This reminds me of post-industrial landscapes, a stark beauty in man-made creation; how color-field painting's origins tie into industrial processes such as coating, and the commercial manufacture of pigments that now seem quite distanced from their initial industrial roots. Curator: And Knoebel achieves this so eloquently, making it as politically and conceptually resonant as it is visually stunning. Editor: Indeed. By focusing on how it's made, and of what it's made, this work also encourages me to confront questions of artistic skill and its social implications within modern art-making.