Michael Venezia: Painting: Kat. Kunstverein Heilbronn

Words wait at painting’s gateWorks by Michael Venezia, born 1935 in Brooklyn, undoubtedly represent some of the most original artistic works of Minimalist Art. His »spray paintings« and »bars« duly follow the minimalist dictum of a spatialization of color and extension of the pictorial space. In contrast to Dan Flavin and Donald Judd, however, who chose the opposing path, namely to renounce painting entirely, Venezia devoted himself solely to painting. Inherent in his works are the characteristics of an aesthetic presence, as it can only be developed through painting: texture, paint application and processing. Michael Venezia, taking minimalism into consideration, performs a particular maneuver: he leads painting toward a condition of being a »specific object«, adding to the history of abstract expressionism a chapter on minimalism. This catalogue endeavors to assign Michael Venezia’s work its rightful place, from its beginnings right up until today. The careful presentation of the works is, therefore, interspersed with various autobiographical materials, as well as an entertaining and very informative interview with Michael Venezia by Tiffany Bell, herself known as an expert interpreter of Agnes Martin and Dan Flavin.Exhibition: Kunstverein Heilbronn, 6/2–29/5/2016