Exhibition News: Witek at Museum Wilhelm Morgner, Germany
Joan Witek (b.1943) “The Return (PS-20),” 1983, Oil stick and graphite on canvas, 63 ¾ x 40 1/8 in (161 x 102 cm) © 2021 Joan Witek / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Collection Joost van den Bergh, London. Photo: Matt Pia
JOAN WITEK
April 25 – July 18, 2021
Museum Wilhelm Morgner
Thomästr. 1
59494 Soest
GERMANY
Soest, Germany — With a solo exhibition at the Museum Wilhelm Morgner, the Stiftung Konzeptuelle Kunst presents an overview of the diverse oeuvre of New York painter Joan Witek (b. 1943), which centers on the color black:
" I am attracted to black because of the beauty of the color and for me, its infinite variety. It is a color that has been my inspiration since I began painting.“ — Joan Witek
Immediately, Joan Witek's works speak to sensation: strong and delicate, oppressive and expansive, clear and intangible, rational and emotional... all the contrasting qualities of black are formulated in her work.
Be it with wax crayon, oil or acrylic paint, on parchment, foil or canvas, Joan Witek carefully works out the respective peculiarities of her materials. One can almost feel the crumpled rice paper, the velvety pastel pencil, the swimming of the watercolor on foil, or the soaking of the ink into soft handmade paper.
Not only in terms of color, but also formally, the paintings live from deliberate reduction: few lines, surfaces or a clear structure focus on the relationship between compression, closedness and opening as well as proportions. The interplay of geometrically developed, manually created and through the material found forms makes the works so exciting and accessible.
Joan Witek borrows her picture titles from various sources - such as "Transfigured Night" after Robert Dehmel's poem Verklärte Nacht. The short titles often include a variety of references, just as "Transfigured Night", for example, refers to hope in terms of content, carries a lyrical rhythm, and at the same time calls Arnold Schönberg's setting of the poem to mind. In this way, the titles do justice to the intensity and multi-layered levels of meaning of the reductive works.
The exhibition has been realized with curatorial support from Niklas von Bartha, London and includes works from the SAMMLUNG SCHROTH (Schroth collection) as well as loans from the Galerie Bartha Contemporary and private collectors from New York and London.
An extensive accompanying program of guided tours and lectures during the exhibition period is planned with reservations; for more information, please see the flyer or our website www.skk-soest.de. As soon as we can foresee the possibility of holding events, we will inform you.
Info: info@skk-soest.de or by phone 0049/2921/14177
