Gerwald Rockenschaub

sentimental braindance / allure selec +

Expanding from a seemingly restrictive abstract-minimalist framework, the Austrian artist Gerwald Rockenschaub has been developing an utterly innovative and diverse range of works since the early 1980s. Their production method and degree of perfection have continuously mirrored the technical and artistic possibilities of the present day. Never allowing the rigid rules of classic Minimal Art to constrain his work, he sought a crossover of art, design, media, and everyday life from the very beginning. Before attending Herbert Tasquil's class at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna from 1978 to 1982, Rockenschaub studied history, philosophy, and psychology. During this period, he extensively explored perceptual psychology. The insights and conceptual approaches gained then have continued to define him as a person and his understanding of art until today.

Rockenschaub's mastery is most evident in his vast scope of artistic expression, his engagement with spatial circumstances, and his dramaturgically pointed use of colour. In his oeuvre, luminous colours regularly coincide with minimalist-geometric forms, occasionally bringing to mind pictograms. His art ranges from painting to wall objects, sculptures, site-specific installations, and filmic animations that playfully draw on his formal repertoire and set it in motion. His sources of inspiration include positions of modern art, abstract concepts, Pop Art, Minimal Art, popular culture, and notably the techno and electro scene—he repeatedly samples all these influences to form a new whole. In doing so, he soon discovered the virtually unlimited possibilities of computer-assisted composition. In his own words: "When my finances made it possible for me to buy a computer, I relocated my studio into a laptop. It was a terrific and efficient way to expand my artistic production."

At Galerie Mehdi Chouakri, visitors now have the rare opportunity to view works from Rockenschaub's early practice, presented alongside his current works. Their materiality and execution are particularly compelling and shed light on the progression of technical possibilities in the artist's oeuvre. Canvases and wooden objects that look charmingly handcrafted are shown alongside machine-produced synthetic elements with a high gloss aesthetic. The contrast could not be starker. And yet, these early works already indicate the direction of subsequent artistic developments. Music, among other things, was a characteristic element of Rockenschaub's style from an early stage. His square paintings and objects frequently call to mind the format and design of records and record covers. The titles of his monographic exhibitions tend to sound like song titles—hence the current exhibition title "sentimental braindance / allure selec +" fits this pattern.

Formally, his early painting in the 1980s associated him with the Neo-Geo movement. The artist was, however, never concerned with classical painting as such. He regards his painterly work as a reflection of the medium and considers the paintings primarily as objects for an installation or a stage production.

The range of materials Rockenschaub uses further demonstrates that he never distanced himself from popular culture. For quite some time, he has been working with acrylic glass, plastic film, and MDF boards that replace the canvas and allow his works to be produced by machine. 

His extraordinarily wide-ranging oeuvre reveals a great deal about his understanding of art and his role as an artist. He maintains a pragmatic, invariably solution-oriented approach that allows him to expand and adapt the framework of his artistic practice to suit any given situation. When it comes to Rockenschaub, there is no clear distinction between creation and service. His installations and room designs at various international galleries and museums have impressively confirmed the fruitful symbiosis between these two spheres.  

Rockenschaub considers his art to be a visual game, and he continues to astonish the viewer with new game variations to this day.

— Karsten Löckemann

Translation Katerine Niedinger

Yellow and red acrylic glass, metal srews, washers, 2015
21,7 x 26 cm
8.5 x 10.2 in

In this multi-part work, Rockenschaub plays with the viewer's perception to a particular degree. At first glance, it is about five individual circles made of acrylic glass, each overlapping the other. In fact, the four yellow circles are connected to each other and form a common structure. The red circle, on the other hand, is detached from this and nestles exactly into the milled-out curve next to it. Three screws with washers set pointed accents within the composition and refer to the symmetrical arrangement of the circles.

Oil on canvas, 1985
18 x 15 cm
7.1 x 5.9 in

The painting comes from a series of works all in the same format and made with shimmering silver oil paint. Rockenschaub composes dots of oil paint into a uniform horizontal and vertical grid, which is broken by the irregularity in the application of paint. Through prominent peaks of color, the artist's signature remains traceable. Canvas and paint become a unified object, blurring the line between painting and sculpture.

Red and white acrylic glass, brass hook, 2021
ø 40 cm
ø 15.7 in

In this new work, Rockenschaub uses a distinctive brass hook instead of screws to hold the two acrylic plates. The lower, white disc is significantly larger than the circle in signal red that overlays it. The minimal composition of only three elements allows the system of hanging to be directly understood and is radically reduced to the minimum. At the same time, this minimalism encourages a closer look at the surface and the differences between the materials. The positioning of the red disc away from the center also suggests a circular movement within the composition.

Button on decoration felt, 1986
12,5 x 12,5 x 2 cm
4.9 x 4.9 x 0.8 in

The small work shows how Rockenschaub experimented with a wide variety of materials in the 1980s to make his minimal compositions. On a square base of blue decorative felt, the artist places a magenta-colored button in the center. The contrast between the rough surface of the felt and the smooth metal-framed button is literally brought into focus.

Oil on canvas, 1985
18 x 15 cm
7.1 x 5.9 in

The painting comes from a series of works all in the same format and made with shimmering silver oil paint. On the silver primed canvas, the artist applies raised horizontal stripes that create a relief-like structure. Through the manual application of paint without auxiliary, the artist's ductus remains recognizable and comprehensible.

Red and yellow acrylic glass, metal screws, washers, 2016
15 x 15 cm
5.9 x 5.9 in

In this work, Rockenschaub overlays a red acrylic plate with four bulges with a round, smaller circle made of the same material. The shape and color scheme are reminiscent of a flower and floral symbols from the 1970s. Moreover, they allude to logo designs from that very decade. Also, the shape picks up on the medieval quatrefoil that adorned Gothic windows. Rockenschaub knows how to reinterpret familiar motifs with his own design repertoire and thus build a bridge from the past to the present.

Oil on canvas, 1986
15 x 14,5 x 2 cm
5.9 x 5.7 x 0.8 in

The painting shows a blue background on which Rockenschaub has applied a multitude of silver dots in various sizes. The irregular arrangement creates an organic pattern that gives the motif a pulsating movement. This kind of representation of minimal art is familiar in a similar form from artists such as Yayoi Kusama, who has made her "polka dots" a trademark.

3 opaque, coloured acrylic sheets, metal screws, washer, 2015
13 x 13 x 0,9 cm
5.1 x 5.1 x 0.4 in

The small relief consists of three superimposed discs of acrylic glass in orange and yellow. They are held together by a metal screw including washer, which penetrate the acrylic glass centrally. This work is characteristic of Rockenschaub's analytical approach and reduced material palette. The acrylic glass becomes a kind of "camouflage" through layering: the forms simultaneously conceal and reveal themselves. The visible screws, part of the composition, reinforce the artist's structural approach, which always stems from the material. The staggered arrangement of the acrylic squares and the central positioning of the screw, creates an imagined circulating movement.

Red and black acrylic glass, metal screws, washers, 2016
ø 40 cm
ø 15.7 in

In this work, Rockenschaub places a black circle of acrylic glass on a red, slightly larger circle. The discs are fixed by means of two screws including washers within the black surface. The clear form is reminiscent of a target and yet the artist breaks the fixation on the center by placing the two screws to the right and left of the center.

Oil on canvas, 1985
40 x 40 cm
15.7 x 15.7 in

The painting from 1985 shows on a square canvas how minimal and precise Rockenschaub already worked in his early days. The edges of the white primed canvas is bordered by a red square. Slightly offset below the center, a horizontal silver stripe runs through the painting. Rockenschaub manages here to reduce the form to the most radical with painterly means, which gives the work an almost "digital" touch, already reminiscent of the Plexiglas objects of recent years.