Judy Millar at Kunstmuseum St. Gallen

Judy Millar's exhibition "The Future and the Past Perfect" at Kunstmuseum St. Gallen provides a comprehensive look into her artistic journey spanning 40 years. Born in Auckland in 1957, Millar is recognized as New Zealand's foremost contemporary painter, making significant contributions to the current painting landscape.

Her unique approach involves a process of subtraction, where she creates paintings by removing applied paint using fabric rolls and squeegees on canvases laid on the floor. The resulting transparent gestural movements capture the essence of the artist's body, serving as a central element in her art. This method represents a departure from traditional painting, akin to a negative image on a reversal film.

Room 1

The first room showcases Millar's recent works from 2017 and 2018, featuring large-scale paintings with dynamic and expressive qualities. These pieces exhibit splintering and fraying traces of movement in vibrant colored spaces, drawing viewers into a whirlwind of paint.

Room 2

A series of controlled graphic works from the early 1980s reveal Millar's exploration of subtraction through polished diagrammatic grid structures. These works on paper, created post her art academy graduation, anticipate her later painting style by utilizing masking and adhesive tape techniques.

Room 3

The third room houses a large "conventional" painting with overlapping traces of color, emphasizing the physical presence of the artist within the artwork. Layers of color, including glazes, create an atmospheric pictorial space that invites viewers to immerse themselves in the intricate details.

Room 4 (Skylight Hall)

Six large-scale paintings on plastic tarps reference Millar's previous works from the exhibition "Giraffe-Bottle-Gun" in Venice, showcasing her sense of humor and engagement with everyday visual language. These sketch-like paintings explore the technical possibilities of reproduction and large-scale art.

Room 5

This room focuses on variations of the color red in flat paintings from 2002, highlighting the process of painting through meandering loops and three-dimensional elements. The interplay of structure and underpainting creates a dynamic visual experience.

Room 6

In this room, seemingly black-and-white landscape paintings reveal underlying acrylic and zinc dioxide underpainting, evoking anthropological readings and archetypal imagery. The use of gold pigment and screen printing techniques adds layers of complexity to the artwork, inviting viewers to contemplate the uncanny nature of the pictures.

Millar's art poses fundamental questions and stands as a significant contribution to contemporary painting, aligning her with prominent artists like Günther Förg and Katharina Grosse. Her works, characterized by gestural abstraction and expressive energy, transcend traditional boundaries and engage viewers in a dialogue with the urban environment.

This exhibition, made possible by Creative New Zealand/Toi Aotearoa, marks the first comprehensive survey of Judy Millar's work in Europe, bridging her artistic development in New Zealand and Berlin. Her art, deeply rooted in her cultural heritage, offers a unique perspective on global art, reflecting New Zealand's distinct approach to avant-garde movements.

Through her art, Millar seeks to hold multiple perspectives simultaneously, embracing the presence of everyday objects while transcending dualism to achieve a state of total presence. Her work invites viewers to explore the boundaries of perception and experience moments of detachment and timelessness within the artistic process.