Jakob Gasteiger Untitled 2000

Jakob Gasteiger (*Salzburg 1953) developed his minimalist pictorial approach in the early 1980s and has consistently pursued it ever since. In his two studios in Vienna and in Lower Austria, not only does he paint, he also works on three dimensional metal sculptures.
For many years Gasteiger mainly focused on monochrome works, whose relief-like surfaces and textures play with light, color and the question where his paintings start to enter the three-dimensional space. It was only in recent years that the artist expanded his color range, as was impressively demonstrated by the neon-colored works in the Albertina exhibition. Gasteiger’s work has been well displayed in solo exhibitions in major museums in Austria, such as the Salzburg Museum (2016) or most recently the Albertina, Vienna (2021).
In this work, the artist adds a layer of white paint to the black ground, visually breaking up the even vertical structure. Despite the reduced color palette of black and white, Gasteiger manages to enhance dynamic and movement in this minimalist work. The irregular reliefed structure of the white layer of paint additionally accentuates the sculptural dimension of the work.