FROM THE BOOK
"No longer do the titles of Bernard Frize’s paintings carry any indication of meaning… Today, Bernard Frize’s paintings are called
Schorl or
Meauz,
Doum or
Lerte. They may trigger indeterminate memories or associations (
Schorl, for example, with the German expression 'Schorle' for a mixed drink, or
Meauz with 'mots,' the French plural for 'words.') Each of these titles, nevertheless, indicates quite clearly that it is an artificial structure, and thus contains no semantic links that could lead to an interpretation.
The artist extends this reductionist approach to as many components of his work as possible: His strategy of using large numbers of colors for every painting as a rule liberates him from deciding on any one color shade as a possible vehicle for meaning. His habit of sealing surfaces with synthetic resin after painting means that any form of brushwork is available to him without it being possible to interpret it as an act of personal expression. And conversely, the equally frequent smoothing of the picture ground with synthetic resin before paint is applied, leading to an overemphasis of every detail of brushwork, however small, draws the viewer’s attention to the painting process, 'somewhat like a news report,' is Frize’s comment. In turn, this process embodies the idea that the picture manifests. As subject, the artist tries to make himself as invisible as possible. The answer to the question of how the idea, the process, and the concrete picture relate to each other in Frize’s work turns out to be almost as tricky as evaluating his titles."
Markus Heinzelmann, excerpted from Bernard Frize: And How and Where and Who.
