After a long period of creating large-scale, expressive works, Rolf Rose has returned to a quiet language. The new works combine elements of his well-known monochromatic squeegee paintings with a restrained use of color. They are both powerful and subtle, and result from a focused creative process.

The new works are juxtaposed with pieces from the 1980s and 1990s, such as a sculpture from the first half of the 1980s that attests to the conceptual approach in Rolf Rose’s oeuvre.

Madras is a new series of paintings created since 2024 by artist Rainer Gross, born in Cologne and based in New York and Long Island since 1973. At first glance, the works appear to be traditional madras checks, but little by little, layers of irregular opaque and translucent brushstrokes become visible. The transparency of the works reveals the partly watery consistency of the paint used as well as the brushwork as part of the painting process, both contributing to their depth and materiality.

Rainer Gross has a considerable history of artistic creation, which includes conceptual works as well as abstract painting, photography, drawings, artist’s books, and, last but not least, music. One group of works emerges from another, sometimes visibly, sometimes in leaps and bounds. And yet there is a common thread running through his work. The Madras paintings share, inter alia, the depth and complexity of the Contact Paintings recently shown in the gallery. 

Works by Rainer Gross are exhibited in numerous museums and public collections in Europe, the USA, and Canada.

www.rainergross.com