Grey Day Painting

..............In the recent works of Paul Corvers, the figurative tools are increasingly being abandoned in order to arrive at pure, abstract compositions, built up of clear areas of colour determined by chance and indeterminacy. At the time Piet Mondriaan composed his compositions intuitively but harmoniously. We also recognize this in the work of Corvers. Whereas the Neue Wilden presented themselves to us as highly expressive painters averse to dogmas and working in total freedom, Corvers reaches this stage with completely different work. The adventure of painting is in the minimum. In this way, the areas of colour that appear on the canvas only refer to themselves. They are completely at rest and entirely at peace with each other. It results in works that represent a welcome silence. The small formats of most of the works unravel an unprecedented grandeur. It is in line with what John Cage once said: 'There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, if we're trying to produce silence, we cannot.’ In the art of Paul Corvers working in great freedom also results in a void rich in images and sounds. A composed silence. Light, air and land The work of Paul Corvers (1953) has been on show at the E.M. Gallery before, but it continues to surprise. He is an excellent example of a painter of integrity who both broadens and deepens within a subject. His untitled paintings are condensed depictions of associations one might have with light, sky and land(s). Over the years, things have become 'quieter' and Corvers gets more and more to the essence. Recognisable parts or elaborate details have been banished from his images and replaced naturally by pure abstraction, which refers casually rather than explaining at length. SUSAN VAN DEN BERG