WINSTON ROETH

Raw pigment bound in Polyurethane Dispersion applied with a delectable precision and modulated to extraordinary density signify Roeth’s paintings on a variety of media. Quartet #2, an installation made up of 4 sawn poplar wood panels of equal size, will take centre stage in this exhibition. The work exemplifies the artist’s unparalleled ability to calibrate the colour experience, elevated here by the porous structure of the openly sawed wood panel surfaces. The artist carefully controlled subtle shifts in hue and responded to the movement of the changing wood grain. In turn lifting pure colour pigments to allow light to render the surfaces. Further animated by tonality shifts, that are determined by the viewer’s position in relation to the work, captivate the audience in a highly-choreographed encounter.

Winston Roeth splits his time between two Studios, in Maine and Beacon NY, the changing light conditions between these locations and the relative geographic isolation of one, versus the sub-urban reality of the other, inform the framework, within which the artist developed his latest works. Indeed paintings of this quality and refinement showcase a heightened state of concentration and command. Roeth creates paintings that reveal the complexities that underlie the human experience of seeing and our awareness of colour.

Handmade but precise, hard-edged but not industrial Roeth’s paintings occupy a space within the broader context of contemporary art that is firmly rooted in a modernist tradition but expands the vocabulary of painting. Spanning nearly 50 years the artist’s practice has gained a loyal global following. Roeth’s work is exhibited widely, coinciding with this exhibition a suite of paintings from the Ege collection are currently on view at the Kunstmuseum Alexander Bürkle in Freiburg, a presentation of works from the Mondschein collection is currently on view at the Kunstmuseum Wiesbaden.