Fine ArtMagnum von Plessen at the GladstoneBy Jocelyn MarquisWednesday, April 6, 2005
Magnus von Plessen, one of the great modern European painters, shows at the Gladstone Gallery this spring in New York. Following in the school of artist Luc Tuymans, a mid-career painter whose specialty is a “cropped, photographic effect”, Magnus von Plessen new overture suggests both structural and deconstructive concerns. Deriving from his earlier use of photographic media as a starting point for his paintings, the mostly smallish canvases focus on a number of topics, from the desolate alienation of modern urban life to the contrasting freedom exemplified in die “Reiter” series, (of horse riders). Light and structure interact, the dynamic between them most usually tense. Von Plessens’ images seem to be rendered in a few brief brush strokes, but on closer examination, a careful layering of the paint in alternately thick and translucent layers reveals a carefully constructed field of light and tension. The palette is limited to muted hues of blue, ochre and green, so that the occasional splash of red or yellow really sets off an entire composition. The interplay of light against the subject matter in particular, is fascinating to observe; the contrast between light and dark areas within the canvasses are so intense, so that the viewer is constantly trying to determine not only whether they are observing a positive or negative image, but trying to determine exactly what the structure of the image implies. Spatial relationships are additionally obfuscated; background and foreground elements frequently intertwine in such a way that it is difficult to determine where the planes begin and end. Recalling on some level early Cubist collage, Magnus von Plessen “plays” with how the eye chooses to see, distinguish and define space. His primary technique, additive and subtractive application of paint in bars, allows him to throw his subjects into harmony or disharmony with the environment by turning the axis of the planes into likewise or disenfranchised axis of the surrounding area. He meticulously builds up levels of paint, and small, scattered areas of color resembled cast away bits of paper, re-configured to presume form. Ultimately the pervasive ambiguity of von Plessens paintings suggest is not one concerned with the structural formalities of a being engaged within a space, but rather suggests the actual energy exuding from the character itself. Von Plessens concern, therefore, is not to make a finite determination of his subject through pictorial representation, but to represent the subject as the mind experiences observation of it: “An image that mirrors the activity of the mind”. Magnus von Plessen For More Information Visit Glastone Gallery Image Copyright Magnus von Plessen 2004. Courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York  
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