gert und uwe

gert + uwe tobias are romanian artists (now living in germany). they recently had a one-day show in berlin, comprised of twelve woodcut still-lifes of trussed-up birds, giant butterflies, and creatures that live only in the imagination. i saw their work in frieze magazine and loved three things about it: 1) every inch of the 97" x 77" surfaces was covered 2) with compositions full of bright plumes of color 3) set down on the page via woodcut prints.

i love color. i am open to minimalist artwork that employs neutrals, but i wholly love pieces in which the artist(s) embrace and mix hues in a sensitive, particular way. it makes me feel like the artist is so well-acquainted with color that s/he instinctively understands how (and how not) to combine it with others. as such, these pieces are stunning to me. i've not been able to find the images i'm describing to you online, so i've photographed what i found in frieze, and am posting the work i could find.

from frieze magazine, may 2011

 

someday when the art from the berlin show appears in cyberspace, i will share the rest of it with you! for now, these will suffice. i am not as captivated by the above pieces as i am by their more recent work, but you get what they are capable of here, and you see their way with color. plus, any artist who makes woodcut prints is, in my humble opinion, awesome.

lastly, and on a somber note, another artist who fully embraced color and made me want to live in his painted worlds died this week: cy twombly, may you rest.

have a splendid wednesday, all.