Johan de Fre - Black & White
Exhibition E-Catalogue
The idea was to keep the background of the paintings as black or white as possible. Because it is impossible to work on a pure black or white background I had to create a thousand shades of grey. The pottery too is only black or white such that the focus of each work is its intensely coloured subject in high contrast to its monochrome setting. I imbue the pieces of fruit with a heightened status, as players on a stage, standing in the spotlight. Doing this I tried to create a new, more ideal reality knowing that fruit, in the real world, is probably one of the most transient objects on earth. During the long process of creating the paintings, I repeatedly experience the fruit’s ‘transience and decay’ (fruit flies included). I can assure you, it is not the best feeling, watching the juice from the softening strawberries begin to seep onto my pallet whilst the remains of the berries turn grey and dusty as I watch.
‘Black and white in duplo’ is an idea, I had when I was 16 years old : What would happen if I made a painting of a painting (of a painting, of a painting...) I never succeeded in realizing that idea because I always placed the painting in the middle of the canvas. Inevitably I had to repeat the painting over and over again, smaller and smaller into infinity, a technical impossibility. It took me 50 years to understand that I had to place the painting off centre, to the side of the picture plane, so the third version is subsequently a notional version outside of the frame. I’ve also found that trying to replicate the same painting of berries twice, can drive you crazy.
25 October - 9 November 2018
Panter & Hall
11-12 Pall Mall
London
SW1Y 5LU
If you are interested in any of the reserved paintings, it is worth contacting the gallery as there is a chance that they may become available.
