Günther Förg: 'Decisive, Hesitant, Fragile' at Hauser & Wirth

Although some place him within the brackets of Modernism, Günther Förg intended to critique recurrent motifs of the movement in his conceptual painting practice—not partake in it. This ambitious struggle would follow him throughout his career.

With this in mind, it’s interesting to consider the roots of the works in Tupfenbilder (1 February–29 April 2023), on view at Hauser & Wirth‘s London gallery.

Translating to ‘spot paintings’, Förg’s works foreground the brushstroke as both method and medium. He was informed in part by photographs documenting the inside of Francis Bacon‘s studio, where stippled patches of paint revealed where Bacon wiped excess paint from his brushes as he worked.

Förg’s refined palette brings an undeniable composure to a series that could otherwise appear imbalanced—however, it is his handling of paint that takes centre stage. Described by art historian and curator Rudi Fuchs as ‘decisive, hesitant, fragile, tentative, abrupt, compact’, Förg’s marks disclose his pursuit of subverting modernist tropes, all the while inhabiting its very language.

Main image: Günther Förg, Untitled (2007). Acrylic and oil on canvas. 290 x 290 cm. Courtesy © Estate Günther Förg, Suisse/DACS 2023. Photo: Bernhard Strauss.