Ohne Titel, 1983

About the Work

In Per Kirkeby’s painting, ice crystals detach themselves from the picture ground – an iridescent mix of green, brown and lilac, formed as if by sedimented layers of mosses, lichens and rocks. The colour structures are abstract but suggest organic matter. The Danish artist, who has a doctorate in geology, visualises the structures underlying the transient phenomena of reality. In a manner akin to the basic idea of structuralist theory, he is concerned with the interrelationships between things. The meaning of the overall structure points beyond that of its individual elements.