Gelber Sessel

The works of Fritz Klemm are characterized by a visible reduction of the artistic means. Guided by his own experience of seeing, he employed a limited number of selected motifs in his pictures, as exemplified by the painting »Yellow Armchair«. The piece of furniture was originally located in the artist’s studio, a spatial structure which Klemm simplified, transferring it to the picture plane.

In the process, he emphasized the round basic form of the seat upholstery by scratching its outline into the raw paint crust. Its dull surface appearance is achieved through the use of the granular paint Caparol, which is usually used for wall plaster and rendering. Thanks to the different thicknesses of material applied using the spatula and scratch techniques, the work gains a relief-like character.

In addition to the thematic and formal reduction, Klemm also limited his color palette, frequently employing black, white, and gray, while the sparingly applied colors are reserved for highlighting individual elements. The armchair is thus highlighted and soberly staged as the central pictorial element through the conscious use of color.