The edition is comprised of a series of small-format works, each made up of two contrasting yet related halves that reminisce about Yves Klein's unique blue paintings. The series is part from Clemens Wolf’s important work cycle of his Expanded Metal Pigment Paintings for which he brings the material to the forefront, with a piece of fence - one of Clemens Wolf's preferred objects in his practice - acting as paintbrush.
First, the artist generously applies thick layers of oil on the left aluminium plate which serves as a kind of ink pad for a metal fence fragment that he uses as stamp to transfer the oil paint on to the right plate. The oil paint serves as an adhesive primer to absorb the blue pigment that Clemens Wolf applies in the last step.
The rough structural appeal of the oil paint and the radiant character of the blue pigment exert a powerful attraction that seduces the viewer to cross the line between view and touch.
Expanded Metal Pigment Painting #08
Expanded Metal Pigment Painting #09
Expanded Metal Pigment Painting #10
Expanded Metal Pigment Paintings #08 and #09 with Parachute Sculpture in the foreground
Clemens Wolf (*1981) lives and works in Vienna, Austria. Since his graduation at the University of Arts Linz, he is fascinated by dilapidated material like fences in front of dumps, abandoned warehouses and unfinished buildings.
In his latest works, he sets his main focus on the process of transformation haunted by his own history. Old discarded parachutes (he is a passionate parachutist) are transformed into sensual objects. After they are immersed in epoxide resin the parachutes are layed out in tondi, hung or stand up as sculpture or stretched on frames as paintings, every crease being arranged meticulously and finally left to dry. The choice of such a lightweight and an aerial object as a parachute conjures up the fundamental notion of gravity.
When examining Clemens Wolf’s obsessive and mysterious work, it’s obvious that the frontier between painting, sculpture and drawing is of great importance to him. The surface of the pieces with their vivid palette reveals a world that is almost organic.
Clemens Wolf's work has been widely exhibited internationally in solo shows in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Poland, the USA and China and has been a part of biennials such as the Istanbul Biennale 2019. His works have entered important private collections as well as institutional collections such as Albertina and the STRABAG Art Collection.
Read our story with Clemens in his studio.
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