The luminescence of Paul Uhlmann's paintings has its origin in such a space, where the complete absence of light (Finsternis) must by definition imply its opposite.
Paul Uhlmann
Born 1962, Sydney, New South Wales
In modernism, the black monochrome constitutes a logical and pure reduction of elements to their most essential form – a space of nothingness. This space, often considered one of nihility, is seminal, full of propagative qualities. The luminescence of Paul Uhlmann's paintings has its origin in such a space, where the complete absence of light (Finsternis) must by definition imply its opposite. Early paintings suggest physical representations of evanescent light, stellar emanations in celestial voids.
However the conceptual space of Uhlmann's light is not constituted by its physical atmosphere alone. For example, in Field and Wounds, the concept of metaphysical light is explored through the sublime metaphor of the Wounds of Christ, an affirmation of transcendence and passage.
Ross Wolfe from his Samstag essay, Chaos in Heavean
1994 Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship
1994 International Student, Academie can Beelende Kunsten, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1993 Master of Visual Arts, Australian National University, Canberra
