Jakob Gasteiger Untitled “29.8.2019” 2019

Jakob Gasteiger developed his minimalist pictorial concept in the early 1980s and has consistently pursued it ever since. In his paintings, Gasteiger uses a comb spatula to shape the color, be it thicker oil paint or smoother acrylic paint. The cardboard comb takes the place of the painter’s brush. Of great importance is the rhythmic implementation of the meticulously planned relief structures.
In the 1990s, Gasteiger switches from oil to acrylic paints, and from 1994 he also creates two-color paintings. “These two-color paintings by Gasteiger, unlike the monochrome ones, visually have several pictorial levels, which further intensifies the three-dimensional impression.”*
At the same time, the painterly aspect comes to the fore as can be seen from the delicate color transitions.
This horizontal format in magenta and yellow was exhibited in Gasteiger’s solo-show at Albertina Museum Vienna, 2021, where – together with two other paintings hanging one above the other – it resulted in a real eye-catching combination.
*Eva Jandl-Jörg in “Material und Raum”, exhibition catalog Salzburg Museum 2016/17, p.15