Casper David Friedrich’s The Monk by the Sea (1808-10) abandons its moorings and seeks another surface.  The paint escapes the rectangular frame, its brushstrokes come to life and seek for somewhere outside painting’s conventional home.  Brushstrokes are made with the action of an arm or a body; here they are not confined to their usual rectangular surface.  Here they are free to cross thresholds and flow over spaces occupied by the body (ie. the floor).  Now the rectangle that once was the painting is just a shell.

Exhibition at Rubcon ARI 2014