Harmony in opposition

from Nationalmusée um Fëschmaart | The Alchemist Catalogue

by Musée national d'archéologie, d'histoire et d'art

Biography

Exploring dualities in Arthur Unger’s oeuvre

By Lis Hausemer

Arthur Unger is a painter of contrasts. His paintings evoke both light and darkness, gesture and restraint. Inspired by Taoist philosophy and the belief in the balancing forces of yin and yang, Unger expresses himself through the opposing elements of fire and water. Fire plays a central role in the vivid compositions the artist creates with ink and acid on electrolytic copper plates. Water, on the other hand, is evident in his masterful ink wash paintings, a practice Unger has engaged in since the very beginning of his artistic career in the early 1960s. The exhibition The Alchemist – Selected works by Arthur Unger presents some forty copper and ink wash paintings that offer a glimpse into the artist’s highly personal approach, both in terms of technique and subject matter. Viewers, thus, find themselves transported into a realm of opposites, a world where fire and water collide, illustrating the complexity of Unger’s artistic vision.

As one might expect, Arthur Unger has been the subject of a great deal of writing over the course of his lengthy career, now spanning almost 50 years. Prominent figures in modern European art history such as Michel Tapié and Ante Glibota were crucial in popularising Unger’s work both in Luxembourg and internationally. Looking at how Unger’s work was received over the years, it becomes apparent that the majority of the literature focuses on the inspiration he drew from the time he spent in Africa, particularly in the former Belgian Congo, Senegal and Mali.1 Given the extensive literature on the subject and the biographical perspective that Jamie Armstrong offers on the artist’s work in this catalogue, the following essay will not summarise or reproduce existing interpretations on Unger’s work. I believe that a contemporary analysis of Arthur Unger’s work should reflect the recent shift in societal attitudes and prompt a nuanced, critical perspective on Western perceptions of non-Western cultures. I consider the following essay less a continuation of the established narrative around Arthur Unger’s oeuvre and the inspiration he drew from African cultures, but rather as a contemporary reading of his oeuvre in the context of the selection of artworks presented in the exhibition The Alchemist – Selected Works by Arthur Unger.

Balancing gestural expression and restraint

The juxtaposition of inside and outside, of expression and self-control, is a common thread that runs through Unger’s oeuvre. He characterises his artistic approach as “a spontaneous gestural expression with, at the same time, a certain restraint”2. This phrase succinctly sums up Unger’s practice. His works represent expressions of the artist’s innermost self, yet are formally executed in a very intentional and considered way. While Unger’s copperplate and ink wash paintings instantly command the viewer’s attention with their extraordinary sense of spontaneity, every brushstroke and touch of colour has been carefully considered by the artist. Paintings such as Où les rocs sont rois (1993) and La saharienne (2000) vividly illustrate this dichotomy between impulsive expression and structure. Although the grid-like compositions in these paintings may initially appear disorganised and haphazard, they have a rhythmic and almost pattern-like structure on closer inspection.

While Unger’s rhythmic paintings may bear a certain aesthetic resemblance to the works of Jackson Pollock, it is important to note that Unger’s artistic approach differs significantly from that of the infamous American expressionist painter.3 In contrast to Pollock, who created his action-based drip paintings by pouring paint directly onto canvas, Unger places a strong focus on structure and strives to maintain a delicate equilibrium between spontaneity and accuracy. As early as 1974, a French art critic, thus, describes Unger’s works as “both an explosion and construction, an antithesis between structure and extreme liberation”4. This highlights the tension between the static and the dynamic that underpins Unger’s artistic practice, setting it apart from the action painting of Pollock and other American expressionist painters.

Painting with fire

Arthur Unger’s mastery of his craft is the result of years of experience, dating back to 1969 when he created his first copper painting. Through tireless trial and error, he has become a modern-day alchemist, transforming thin electrolytic copper plates into evocative paintings that blend geometric and organic structures. Unger’s unique technique involving the use of fire on copper sets him apart from his contemporaries. While experiments with fire in art are not a new phenomenon, several modern artists have garnered attention for their use of fire.