Otto Piene (1928-2014)

‘Our interest in fugitive phenomena and effects on the environment makes fire an appealing medium. It shines, warms, reacts strongly to other elements, and retain power even when confronted with massive technology. To master fire is an old challenge to man’
(O. Piene, More Sky, exh. cat., Neue Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, and Verlag der Buchandlung Walther Konig, Cologne, 2014, p.78).

In Orange Fire, Piene has continued his exploration of fire by burning pigment directly onto the canvas. The resulting bubbles and crusts that form give the circular composition a strange depth, an alchemistic quality. The radiant surface appears to vibrate, achieving a sublime sense of simplicity and coherence without external reference. For Piene, works such as Orange Fire make visible the elusive forces of pure energy. As the artist explained, ‘the eye is more important than the hand. Bodily involvement is relatively modest
compared to, say, the gesture-rich practice of Informel painter. Direct contact of hand-to-paper does not occur… The smoke drawings are without “handwriting”. Anonymity of the author is widely sustained’ (O. Piene, quoted in Otto Piene, Villorba 2011, p. 106).