Blue Glow

Studiolo

Our world is blue. Sunlight is filtered through our planet’s atmosphere, meaning that we see mainly blue light. This has shaped human perception as sky, sea, water, distance, vastness, or depth.

Because of these natural phenomena, blue is often associated with coldness or calm. Moreover, in view of the seemingly endless skies or seas, blue is also associated with the intangible, the infinite, and even the divine.
This atmospheric blue, which sometimes creates its own glow, is now traced in the museum’s collection. Abstract works have been chosen deliberately for this Studiolo, eliminating any direct attribution of motifs such as sky, water or landscape.
Sometimes, however, those very associations do arise: For example, in the work “OE 246a (Gracco)” by Rupprecht Geiger, where the form appears like an open window through which we can gaze at the sky. Geiger is often linked primarily to his fascination for red in all its variations. His work “350/61”, by contrast, surprises us with a deep blue that glows from the darkness. In Hans Hartung’s “T1982-H44” we think we can see water splashing upwards on the canvas, while in “T1965-H9” the visible brushstrokes virtually flow across the painting. The blue forms in Fritz Winter’s series “Triebkräfte der Erde” (Earth’s Driving Forces) seem like crystals illuminating something hidden with their earthly glow.
Whether calm or agitated, in nature or paintings, as light or colour; blue is everywhere around us.

Curated by Ines Rüttinger

The exhibition format "Studiolo" is a dynamic space within the MGKiegen collection. Here, in regularly changing exhibitions, individual focal points and groups of works from the collections are brought into focus.