The publication juxtaposes works by painters Günter Umberg and James White, inviting a dialogue between their ostensibly disparate practices.

Umberg defines painting as ‘painted colour’. He has radically reduced the means of painting to its essentials. The sheer presence of colour in his works produces an uncanny effect of depth and the physical presence of the paintings comes to the fore.

James White’s black and white paintings depict everyday scenes such as a half empty glass, a door left ajar. The London based artist, executes them intricately like still life paintings, yet using contemporary materials, cinematic narrative devices and images of consumer objects that anchor his practice in today’s visual culture.

The works of both artists investigate questions of surface and depth of images, closeness and distance, presence and absence.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition, Günter Umberg / James White: Conversation at Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne (16 March – 24 May 2019).

English and German text.