Ron Gorchov

Being deeply engaged in the exploration of liberating ideas of form, Ron Gorchov has been working with shaped canvases since the late 1960's. His custom-fabricated, saddle-like stretchers avoid the clear edges of an ordinary canvas – contrary to the rigid format of the rectangle that dominated the medium of painting at that time – and offer  a novel investigation of space, scale and surface.

Simple variations of coloured, organic shapes build the centre of Gorchov's works. Often two seemingly opposing forms build a contrast to the background, creating an elementary composition that shifts between impressions of balance and disparity: A constant dialogue between the single elements that is expanded and intensified by the curved and warped surface of the objects. Opening the picture plane to the space in front of it and exposing their stretchers otherwise closely attached to the wall, the artist's works allow an unusual experience of depth. Diverging from the impression of a flat screen, they fuse ideas of painting and sculpture.

The exhibition at Galerie Max Hetzler presents a selection of recent paintings from 2017 and 2018. Vivid tones prevail these oil on linen works. The structure of the fabric partly shines through thinly applied paint that drips and runs down the surface. Each title of the present works alludes to a character from greek mythology, a common reference in Gorchov's oeuvre.