Medjesi-Jones, A (2015) 'The absence of myth.' In: Günther Herbst: the absence of myth. AOP Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, pp. 3-7. ISBN 9780620663885
(Request more information)Abstract
In an incisive essay for the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, Andrea Medjesi-Jones writes: “In Günther Herbst’s painting Magnetized Space, an active volcano gushing smoke points to a geological tableaux whose function is compromised within the environment it is placed. It has no role to play in the overall scale of events. We are invited to reconstruct Herbst’s careful harmonizing of unrelated territories that are equally natural as they are fabricated. Strangely, they draw us to the Dysonian paradox; a chemical reaction so versatile, it can act on the most absurd of relations that are perhaps better contextualized through the phenomenon of culture rather than nature. The strength of Herbst’s work is, precisely, in drawing our attention to these relations. Taking the landscape format informed by the history paintings of William Hodges, the flotilla of painterly Modernism is placed in the context that marks not only its own end, but the end of history itself. Certainly the historical chronology that, in Herbst’s visual vocabulary considers its consequences and effects, marks a critical departure from the carefully constructed narratives a tradition of landscape painting is eager to adopt.
| Item Type: | Book Chapter or Section |
|---|---|
| Note: | This catalogue accompanies Günther Herbst’s solo exhibition titled 'The Absence of Myth' at GALLERY AOP, Johannesburg, South Africa in June 2015. The full catalogue is available to read online at the URL above. |
| Keywords: | painting, landscape, Modernism |
| Subjects: | N Fine Arts > ND Painting N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general |
| Divisions: | Bath School of Art, Film and Media |
| Related URLs: | |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Apr 2018 09:39 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Aug 2021 09:49 |
| URI / Page ID: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/10725 |
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