Not Vital / Matias Spescha in Trun

In its exhibition, Not Vital refers to Spescha's early painting and sculpture. He juxtaposes the archaic formal language that Spescha developed in his large-format abstract paintings and spatial works with a series of new works that draw on original forms in the same way.

Not Vital's exhibition closes the circle of homage to Matias Spescha with another, surprising approach to his early painterly work. The focus is on works from the 1960s and 1970s, which captivate with their special painting style. In this, Vital sees interesting parallels to his own way of working, which he wants to discuss.

In Not Vital's extensive oeuvre, the archaic plays an essential role. Be it the depiction of a series of impaled heads that are read as trophies or those that miraculously transform into Prussian blue planets shining from the universe. Many of these anthropomorphic forms, which are reminiscent of the origins of foreign cultures, were created during Not Vital's stays in countries such as China and Brazil. Often the objects, banished behind glass panes, radiate hidden powers that are eloquent and at the same time conceal their secret.

With his paintings of the early 1960s, Matias Spescha dealt with French Informel and Abstract Expressionism. There is also something genuinely archaic about his characters. With their flowing contours and the materiality of the paint-soaked coarse-meshed jute, the monochrome picture surfaces, often divided into three vertical segments, evoke a vague physicality. Filled with a dim light of its own, the outlines, which at first seem flat, take shape and begin to breathe like the shadows of a dream being.

There are also further parallels to Spescha's work in Not Vital's installation method and his preference for combining different techniques, not only to his paintings and room installations, but especially to the sculptures. This second aspect is also given due space in the exhibition.

Not Vital will create a series of new works especially for this exhibition, including paintings, smaller sculptures and drawings. They will enter into a dialogue with Spescha's paintings from the 1960s and 1970s, as well as models of his sculptures. In addition, an event in the presence of the artist will expand the program.