size:280 x 240mm
hardcover
96 pages
A collection of works by American artist Stanley Whitney. For over 30 years, he conducted a wide variety of experiments using roughly drawn gadget-like structures, and from there he created his own rules for the order of colour. To remind you of harmony or contrasting relationships, the author stacks three or more colorful blocks and lines to create an abstract structure, and arranges colors in a balanced manner inside. Various different tensions and boundaries arise between these elements of color, allowing for infinite combinations to be created. On the other hand, the final composition of each piece is also dependent on the trademark relative density, transparency and blurring of the rectangle. The artist says that the process of creating mosaic patterns with the characteristics of this painting is a form of continuous fine-tuning that is also true for athletes who always strive to maintain optimal conditions. This may perhaps be the most accurate definition of artistic "training." The artist's production has a strong connection to the music, including the performance-like "dance" that is performed towards the canvas, and the "call and response" technique, which determines adjacent colors in a way that is similar to the "interaction" in music. Paintings with colors and shapes full of canvas are similar to polyrhythms and synesthetism, but jazz and African music are often cited as sources of their works. However, the author, who has never lost its connection to the history of painting, quotes Cezanne and Veronese as easily as he hums a piece by Charlie Parker or Ornet Coleman. This book was published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Lisson Gallery in London from May 20th to July 2nd, 2016.