Presented by Taguchi Fine Art from August 24 to October 12.

Taguchi Fine Art is pleased to present a solo exhibition of German painter Michael Toenges this summer and fall. Tenges is a German painter born in 1952, based in Leverkusen, Germany. Some of his works are in the collections of the Kolumba Museum in Cologne and the Aarau Museum in Switzerland. Although he has been active mainly in Europe, this solo exhibition, "Paintings on Paper 1995-2019," is the first time that his works can be seen in Asia. A unique feature of this exhibition is that all the works on display are small pieces painted on cardboard. According to the gallery, these small works have not received as much attention as other large scale works or paintings on canvas. Although the small works on cardboard have been considered preparatory and fragmentary, they are noteworthy because they are evidence of his experimentation and struggle with color. In this exhibition, we will introduce his old works from 1995 to his latest works prepared for this exhibition.

Toenges explores the diversity of color by layering oil paint on wooden boards and canvas. Tenges says that his main focus is on color placement, contrast, and construction, without being bound by image or form. He focuses on exploring the materiality of color and paint, which are considered the basic elements of painting.

Tenges usually does not prepare sketches in advance and paints without any reference images or plans. Tenges paints spontaneously, without any particular image in mind, but at the same time he studies the color compositions used by other painters in history, such as Giotto, Fra Angelico, Botticelli, and Goya. The accumulation of knowledge gained from his incessant research seems to enable him to paint without hesitation.

In fact, his works may appear to be created all at once, simply because they are unplanned, but technically, the process involves applying color to a board, letting it dry, and then repeating the process over and over again. Thus, his paintings can be considered a long study of the use of color in art history.

Since his works are characterized by both fast and slow speed, we can also feel two kinds of fascination. The first is that they grab our attention at once, like the moment when Tenge paints without hesitation. Second, like the process of his effort, it makes us stay in front of the work for a long time. you can enjoy his works slowly at Taguchi Fine Art until October 12.

Michael Toenges, "Paintings on Paper 1995-2019"

• Date: Saturday, August 24, 2019 - Saturday, October 12, 2019 Saturday, August 24, 2019 - Saturday, October 12, 2019
• Opening hours. 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
• Closed on Sundays, Mondays, and holidays
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Article written by: Jeongeun Jo
Born in Korea, lives in Japan. She is one of the members of TRiCERA who graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. She is also an artist herself.