18 october 2022, Flor Linckens
Harry Markusse: a seductive interplay between colour, shape, movement, light and space
Until 5 November, Livingstone Gallery is showing an exhibition by the Dutch artist Harry Markusse, who is known for his exceptionally minimalist works that, despite their repetitive and mathematical character, are simultaneously marked by emotion, intuition and experiment.
In 2014, the gallery started Livingstone Projects Berlin, a project space in the dynamic German capital. Artists are invited to work here for a few months and to put together a presentation with gallerist Jeroen Dijkstra, which then travels on to another location. After a number of successful editions, they decided to invite several artists who were not (yet) associated with the gallery. The cultural breeding ground has since inspired countless creative processes, including that of Harry Markusse. The result of this, in part, is currently on display in Livingstone Gallery.
Harry Markusse, Stacked Painting #2, 2021, Livingstone Gallery
The abstract artist aspires to a certain playfulness and harmony in his work, a seductive interplay between colour, form, movement, light and space. He plays with depth, contrast, perspective, trompe-l'oeil effects and elements from minimalism and he is visually inspired by urban design. Markusse observes rhythms and sequences in the street, which are marked by repetition and mathematical principles. Incidentally, he started his artistic practice on the street as a young graffiti artist.
Harry Markusse, Stacked Painting Berlin #1, 2020, Livingstone Gallery
Colour also plays a leading role in the artist's work, the result of extensive colour research. Yet the colour combinations that eventually make it onto the canvas (or sheet) are often the result of an intuitive choice. Experimentation plays a significant role in Markusse's practice. For example, he experimented a lot with different screen printing techniques, which sometimes also find their way onto his canvases. Since his residency at Livingstone Projects Berlin, Markusse's works are increasingly characterised by undulating, curved and organic forms.
Harry Markusse, Untitled I (Berliner Luft), 2020, Livingstone Gallery
And although his works appear to be flawlessly perfect and clinical, they are in fact the result of an intuitive process with a limited amount of actions, in which it is never clear in advance where the image will eventually land. Up close you can also observe small irregularities like fingerprints and imperfect brushstrokes. Markusse considers these imperfections an essential part of his visual language. He sometimes cuts, folds and recycles until he has achieved the desired result and in his recent "Stacked" series, he consciously seeks out that imperfection by stacking his paintings in perspex boxes and then manipulating them.
You can find Markusse's works in the collections of Museum Voorlinden, the AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Dela and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
