Thomas Pihl

Hatje Cantz
Thomas Pihl
The history of monochrome painting goes back more than a century. Since Kazimir Malevich revolutionized the art world in 1915 with his "Black Square," which was based on a single colour surface, this artistic form of expression has taken many different paths and never lost its fascination. The distinctive works of Norwegian painter Thomas Pihl join this tradition: they do not tell a story about a motif, but nevertheless, occupy the physical and mental spaces that surround them. They invite the viewer to interact, provoke thought, and give rise to discussion. In his works, Pihl applies the colours to the canvas in many layers, allowing a view of the traces of the working process. The resulting visual world, which in its play of light and colour shows us the nature of perception, is now summarized for the first time in a comprehensive publication.