Melanie Smith: Grey (negative) rectangle on white background

Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Limmatstrasse, Zurich

When entering the main room of the gallery, a wall reaching into the room catches our attention. On the white painted wall we can see the negative print of the painting process. This is indicated by some colour stains that seem to build a frame. Melanie Smith refers to these as “negative paintings” and in this context picks out the following two central themes: She refers to the process of painting on one hand. The "negative image" sort of functions as a witness of the creative act of an absent image. On the other hand, the white image space hints towards the deconstruction of illusionism, which is usually assigned to painting. The artist denies to create an illusionary image space and hence confronts the beholder with a white canvas.

 

The sound that is audible in the exhibition room eventually leads the visitor towards the video installation “grey (negative) rectangle on white background, 2008” behind the wall construction. This room is dominated by movable walls which remind one of a studio situation. A video installation and a monitor screen on the floor show images of the artist while painting. Thus, the observer becomes a witness of the creation process of a painting, which is however not part of the exhibition. This ostensible documentary is broken up by excerpts, leaps in time and the permanent usage of the zoom. The context of time and space that is here generated physically and filmically, refers to the “negative painting" on the exterior wall and once again alludes to the illusionary painting machinery. A series of sixteen photos as well as series of six paintings are shown in this exhibition. Both take up motifs from the video installation and visualize the inversion of the negative effect.