The Berlin-based artist Dirk Rathke is part of a young generation that has developed new approaches to the geometric-abstract tradition and has found very distinctive solutions. Rathke has succeeded in creating an object with classical painterly materials – wooden frame, canvas and paint – that goes beyond the scope of the genre.

For example, one wall object constructed of four yellow, unevenly shaped canvases is assembled as one large square. However, it cannot be considered as a conventional painting.Dirk Rathke’s monochrome square appears to have burst at its seams, zestfully bent, shifted and twisted out of its axis. The usual flat painting surface is replaced with a curved one, which emerges sculpturally in the corners and gives the work depth. The relationship between line, area, space and movement is the main emphasis in Dirk Rathke’s artistic exploration and the content in his paintings, objects and room-drawings.

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