Tobias Abel, Paintings and Drawings, Galerie Johann Widauer, Innsbruck 2010

The works of Tobias Abel were mostly created for the exhibition at Galerie Widauer. There are new works from 2009 and 2010. Abel’s artistic concept is characterized by monochromatic colors, simple geometric structures and a clear, precise composition reduced to the bare essentials. The title of the exhibition Paintings and Drawings also reflects the concise conception as well as the title of the individual works; for example 6 Untitled Drawings, 2010. The works reveal fundamental properties of color and form.

In the drawings, Abel contrasts the pure presence of colors with geometric shapes, such as vertical, horizontal and embossed lines. The black plane is part of the construction, rather than merely a pictorial ground. Thus, the horizontal black stamped lines are a complementary element to the two lines in oil crayon that strive towards the center. These are partly made of metal particles (copper, gold, silver), which causes a slight iridescence of the colors. The serial arrangements of the drawings allow lyrical sequences that the viewers can follow. The color lines appear like traces of light on the dark plane. The difference between vertical and horizontal pictorial structures is also constitutive for the work of Tobias Abel.

The presence of geometric structures is particularly striking in the large-format works. We see the giant black four-part octagon in the 2009–10 Untitled, acrylic on aluminum, demonstrating internal harmony in its spatial expansiveness. The color black reveals the brushstrokes in the color structure and the four-part structuring gives the monumental, classical form a certain lightness. At its core, the work brings together the geometric perfection of form with the meditative, calm presence of the color black. By contrast, on the facing wall we see the work Untitled, 2009, acrylic on linen, which constitutes an appealing counterpoint to the black octagon.

The character of the work of Tobias Abel is the concentration on a few colors with an elementary significance, like black, red or gray. Purist in material and constructive in form finding, Abel’s works transpose the interpenetration of color and space on a fundamental level. Geometry and clarity of composition in painting as well as drawing are constitutive elements of his artistic work.

Text: Gaby Gappmayr