Jonas Weichsel
Jonas Weichsel, born in 1982 in Darmstadt, lives and works in Frankfurt am Main. For more information, visit the Galerie Thomas Schulte's website.
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In one sentence: What is Concrete Art for me?
A universal language.
Do I see myself as a representative of Concrete Art?
No, I do not feel affiliated with any group.
Who is my favorite artist in the field of Concrete Art?
Josef Albers (color) and Robert Ryman (light).
Which position in Concrete Art was particularly formative or impressive for me? Which pioneers of Concrete Art do I see as role models?
A black-and-white photograph of Rupprecht Geiger in his studio, surrounded by monumental formats, impressed me so much when I saw it in my youth, that I decided to become an artist myself.
What was my first contact with Concrete Art?
An exhibition by Ulrich Erben that I saw at the Museum Wiesbaden.
Have the early days of Concrete Art had a direct influence on my own work as an artist?
Possibly an indirect one.
Which principles of Concrete Art have shaped my artistic approach most?
Precision and clarity.
Color, form, or line? Which fundamental form of artistic expression from Concrete Art is most important to me?
Equally all three.
The manifestos of the pioneers of Concrete Art are for me
- Long-since outdated
- As valid as ever today
- Much too dogmatic
- Of no relevance at all
- Pioneering for their time
- Still a source of inspiration x
- Not radical enough
- Other assessments:
On the hundredth anniversary: Where do I see Concrete Art in another hundred years?
- The movement within fine art that sets the tone
- No longer recognizable as a clearly distinguishable art movement of its own
- Still of great importance
- In forms and media that cannot be predicted yet: In forms and media not yet foreseeable today x
- Other assessments:
And? Is the term Concrete Art still necessary (at all)?
Yes, because it represents the (art historical) description of an engagement by artists with fundamental questions and possibilities of image-making. Many principles of this art are nearly timeless and remain open to reinterpretation. Art outlasts debates about its own terminology for sure.
Translated from German.