Not Vital in conversation with Katharina Ammann

And now this colour! A deep blue. A Prussian blue. It appears like space. A little like darkness, a little like mystery. A little heaviness, too. With no true boundary. Perhaps it is a blue that speaks of confidence, that suggests a sense of security. It remains a little cool, like a coat that I could wear, but by no means have to. It is colour that remains silent, that does not cry out and fight for attention. But there are patches with a lighter colour, representing three heads – heads that have been familiar in Not Vital’s painting for over ten years. They are floating, there are usually two or three of them. One is very bright, two others appear more earth-toned, executed in a mixture of browns and greens, a little umber and olive, which is created by mixing blue with yellow. Toward the top these heads taper somewhat, almost receding, like hair blowing in the wind. Round heads no longer appear, they are all ovals in various sizes. As they no longer have eyes nor a mouth, and the nose is a simple vertical line, they lack a reassuring expression. They are the active agents of the image, they are the lights and air flowing in. Accordingly, they are partly shrouded in light blue. They evoke emotion by taking shape as figures on a dark ground and producing dynamic movement in midst of calm. One of the heads is a light blue, it is the ray of light in the picture. Another has a light blue line that pierces the picture plane below.

Opening | Thu, 6 June, 6–8 pm

Artist Talk | Dr. Katharina Ammann in conversation with Not Vital: Thu, 27 June, 6.30 pm