ETC IV

/ Jean Degottex /

The economy and precision of technique, the setting aside of all expression, the sharp focus on the present are all used with mastery in the later series of ETCs, which is perhaps the clearest digest of the “here and now” in painting. A simple vertical stroke with a brush loaded with black ink and dragged ruthlessly from top to bottom of the linen/cotton canvas expresses an impulse which has been considered and prepared, a period of time similar to that found in the practice archery, with which Degottex was familiar from the book Zen and the Chivalrous Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. Degottex’s art is expressed here in its most pared-down and intense form in keeping with the phrase “nothing before, nothing afterwards, everything is in the act” that the artist used to proclaim. He subsequently favoured experiments with materials such as wood, canvas and paper, using a variety of techniques – folding, covering, tearing, etc. , tending towards a very minimal art form and reducing his colour palette to monochromy – essentially black, earth tones or white.

This work is not presented in the collections.