Paul Czerlitzki - More time

About

The MRNA copies part of the code and is able to transport that information through a thin layer of membrane that protects the core from the rest of the cell. This process of diffusion is something magnificent. A particle that is small enough and has the right kind of setting can travel through the semi-permeable membrane allowing to share the info that it just copied. Of course this process is, next to this very essential function inside our body, something humans use in their every day life in various quantities and occasions. All have in common that they are processes based and evolve past time. 

Paul Czerlitzki (b. 1986, in Gdansk lives in Düsseldorf) works with the temporal shift of particles pushing through or getting absorbed by membranes.

In his series of white “paintings” he applies layers of paint on the back of the canvas to generate a more or less controlled surface on the front. The paint that bleeds through the fine linen structure allows the viewer to observe changes in the density of particles that made it to the other side. In his “paintings” Czerlitzki denies gesture, leaving the works to ask questions of temporal shift and the function of paint itself. The denial of color focuses the attention towards the differences and nuances in the generated structure; an important aspect that is also present in the monochrome dust pieces. 

Here particles of pure pigment are spread across the canvas or can be found on the wall. These sensitive pieces show traces not gestures, and represent another very important aspect of Czerlitzki’s works: A question of trust transmitted through repetition; a single layer on the very basic foundation of what is commonly understood as painting. But he produces nothing but fragile surfaces that are meant to break. They depend on the care of its owner, its transporter or even on the artist himself since they get hurt easily and, with that, are irritating objects that go past a visual stimulation through their minimalistic appearance. The erosion of the surface can be seen as a play on the idea of on the professionalization of art handling. By the overcompensation of protection, his works become a reaction to craze market values for potentially ephemeral work. Protect and preserve. Preserve to protect.

But what does it mean when they break, when traces show and the artist’s idea reveals itself? Czerlitzki’s pieces reflect on their own existence in their own way, to stimulate, to get exhibited, to chip, to fade. What would be left if all the pigment vanishes? Will it be less of a piece or will it actually fully live up to its potential?

Czerlitzki leaves us with pieces that incorporate time and occurrence as essential reasons for their existence. He boldly asks us to revisit our idea of what a “painting” can represent without relying on decipherable codes/symbols or abstract gestures.

(Patrick C. Haas, January 2016)

Co-founder of Megamelange, art center in Cologne, Germany