Frank Piasta
June 29 to July 30, 2015Born in Bochum in 1967, Frank Piasta studied art education and social sciences at the University of Essen from 1990-94 and at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Prof. Gotthard Graubner from 1994-96, as well as at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin under Kuno Gonschior until 1999. The artist lives and works in Freiburg.
The art of invention and discovery, ars inveniendi et investigandi, leads through experiments with color and form, with space and surface and finally with the material.
When color becomes form and the picture carrier dissolves, one finds oneself (somewhat) beyond the laws of physics: The color form obviously contradicts gravity, because it seems to float. Seen soberly, it hangs in a transparent frame, which as such almost negates itself in its lucidity.
Another picture from the series blank volume 2. from 2015. The composite color volumes (or should we call them free color sculptures?) strongly attract the viewer's gaze, so that the frame construction becomes invisible. Gravity is suspended. We only feel it again when we move on to the next picture.
The art of floating, impressively staged by Frank Piasta and curator Beate Hill-Kalusche, takes place for the viewer in the gradual progression of the works.
But the floating aspect only covers one aspect of the exhibition. One pauses in front of the picture, steps closer and examines the color sculptures.
The artist specifies the paint material as silicone, i.e. the sealants we are familiar with, which are probably not missing in any home workshop. Here, however, it is probably silicone resins mixed with color pigments. These sausage-like, flowing forms reinforce the impression of floating or slowly sinking.