Dietrich Bartscht
or: Who’s afraid of red, yellow, blue?
This title of a work by Barnett Newman could be the motto for Bartscht’s works, and particularly for this works created in Portugal over the last decade.
Bartscht's artistic roots can be found in the „Kollektiv Herzogstraße“. He was considerably younger than most members, and he only remained with the group for a couple of years. And yet, important impulses developed there still remain valid in his work today. From the works on offer here it is the ones dating up to 1993 and then again from the end of this decade that develop a sense of flowing dynamics harking back to his time with the Kollektiv.
An important role is given to the white base which fills the monotypes and oil crayon drawings with light and air. This light, indeed, this lightness is not imaginable without the impressions Bartscht assimilated on the Algarve coast, where he spends large parts of the year. His sense of colour and his intuitive manner seem to recall something close to Utopia.
