Enigmatic Studies into the Paradigms of Painting

In Markus Saile’s (b. Stuttgart, 1981; lives and works in Cologne) paintings, overlaid paint strata―some more compact, some translucent―intimate shapes and spaces and yet remain abstract. To achieve this effect, Saile layers oil paints on wood panels with deliberate gestures that unfold in gentle and broad brushstrokes, folded structures, and fan-like fields, yielding abstract studies reminiscent of painterly gestures of the rococo. Although his works seem inscrutable and spare in their execution, they are not minimalist exercises demarcating the medium’s limitations but acute deconstructions of the expressive potentials of material and format. The support media are now elongated, now unconventionally proportioned or bordering on the miniature. The choice of formats is based on a graphical element: the vertical bar (|), which has come into popular use in the informal writing practices of digital cultures. In mathematics and computing―coders call it “pipe”― the symbol serves in a variety of functions, including as a separator or to indicate concatenation. Most generally, it marks the end of one segment as well as the beginning of a new one: a cesura that at once signifies connection. In analogy with sociological observations, Saile manipulates the distances and formats and the hanging of his paintings in the gallery to establish partitions and affliations.

Separate | Related documents Saile’s two-part exhibition at NAK Neuer Aachener Kunstverein. The richly illustrated exhibition catalogue with essays by Ilka Becker and Thomas Love provides a comprehensive introduction to Saile’s painterly vision.