BRILLIANT MONOCHROME

CRUCIAL MOMENT 01 / 03

The first variant of Crucial Moment contains three linear paths. The planks on the leftand right sides are wide and firm: each is traversed by a pair of footprints. The center plank is narrow and offers just enough width for one foot at a time-- one in front of the other. The footprints symbolize movement in a defined direction; yet it remains unclear whose steps they are or if it is a path that has already been taken. Thus, the painting questions the habit of walking in a line, even in an impossible situation and in opposing directions. The footprints are drawn from Erik Andersen’s sculptural installation, Handrail (2018). In this painting, as in the others of the Crucial Moment series, Sumuk ink wash technique has been used for grounding.‍

A play on surfaces and their meaning is always part of Andersen's work. Variation 03 -- the counterpart of Crucial Moment V02 -- is a play on the first motif of the series. Again, the planks and footsteps are drawn from the sculptural installation Handrail (2018). Although incorporating the same elements, however, the clear direction of Version 01 is lost: steps leading anywhere and nowhere resemble not only a deconstruction of the first painting of the series, but also emphasize the possibility and necessity of decision making. In this way, the painting also constitutes a twisted and reversed version of version 02.

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