Stefanie Müller - Lyonel-Feininger-Galerie Quedlinburg über die Malerei von Frank Nitsche:

Frank Nitsche, born in Eisleben in 1958, was inspired to pursue painting by Paul Otto Knust during his studies in Halle in the 1970s. Knust himself was a student of the renowned painter, graphic artist, and craftsman Charles Crodel, who taught at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle during the 1920s and 1930s. Frank Nitsche’s artistic development thus has a direct connection to the modernism of the first half of the 20th century—that is, to the heyday of Burg Giebichenstein and the Bauhaus, the era of Classical Modernism, and the time of Feininger.

Following the principles of these new, revolutionary art schools, Knust passed on the foundations of his artistic approach—namely, the study of nature, composition, and the arrangement of colors and forms—to his student Nitsche. Frank Nitsche’s work, characterized by its strong colors and flat planes, focuses on the themes of still lifes, interiors, and landscapes of nature and cityscapes. In his series of paintings from 2011 and 2012, the artist addresses everyday, ordinary situations and objects. Unlike many works of contemporary painting, Frank Nitsche’s paintings are not monumental in size. The relatively small format sometimes creates an intimate character, thus complementing the subject matter. Objects such as jugs, bottles, and bowls are depicted in Nitsche’s works, as are pieces of furniture or the view from a window. This might seem fitting: inconsequential subjects, small formats. However, through the arrangement of these objects and their colors, Frank Nitsche creates unexpected, unusual perspectives on these often overlooked, ordinary things. He thus manages to transcend the initial unimportance of the objects and create a second, deeper layer of meaning.

The painting “Executive Chair” is a striking example of this. It depicts a wide, imposing armchair in a frontal view. Despite the seemingly broad application of paint, clear signs of wear are visible on the upholstery. By obscuring any surroundings and employing color, the impression is created of a defiant piece of furniture, one that has stood the test of time and simultaneously suggests something about its owner. The first association is that whoever sits in this chair is assertive, has substance, and clearly values ​​permanence, tradition, perhaps even conservatism. And yet—the paint is worn, the marks of time are visible, as the signs of use clearly demonstrate. Behind this initial impression, a second layer emerges, one that calls the initial associations into question: Is the influence of the person enthroned in this chair not long gone, and is he not, in fact, clinging to this chair even though he should have vacated it long ago? These are precisely the questions Frank Nitsche attempts to raise by removing everyday objects and situations from their familiar contexts, thus prompting reflection on the essence, meaning, and purpose of these subjects. Nitsche doesn’t just see the object, the thing itself, but strives to make visible what is not immediately apparent.

However, Frank Nitsche doesn’t only approach his subjects on the level beyond the obvious, on the level of interpretation. He also uses formal techniques and forms to try to reveal the inner essence of his subjects. In doing so, he breaks down the subject into many individual forms, which he then relates to one another. Many of his works therefore require close observation and repeated viewings to fully grasp what is depicted. This is particularly evident in his paintings with maritime and landscape themes, such as “Sailboat in the Harbor.” By scanning the image with their eyes, the viewer can first identify the boat on the left side. This allows them to gauge their position and distinguish between the harbor basin and the landscape. From the many individual shapes in different colors, which initially appear disordered and unrelated, a whole gradually emerges. The image is created, as it were, from within: The single form constitutes the core, the starting point; many individual forms eventually combine to form a complete picture, their harmony creating a cohesive image.

Certain parallels to Cubism are undeniable. This style of the first half of the 20th century fundamentally shaped modern painting and was also significant for Lyonel Feininger’s early work. Characteristic features include the alteration of the subject matter from its usual perspective and its decomposition into individual forms with the aim of representing the subject as a “thing in itself.” In Nitsche’s work, color also plays a central role. It is often a lengthy process of relating colors to one another. Their arrangement is similar to the composition of a piece of music, until a harmony, a sound, emerges at the end of the process.

It requires the viewer’s visual skill to piece together a whole from the initially diffuse jumble of forms and colors. This interplay of forms and colors is particularly evident in Frank Nitsche’s painting “Church in the Harz Mountains.” Here, it becomes clear how meaningful connections arise from individual geometric forms, resulting in a composition. The individual forms ultimately arrange themselves into towers, a portal, and a suggested surrounding landscape. Individual elements become forms, just as atoms ultimately give rise to complex structures and objects. The use of color plays a crucial role in this process. It is employed to further differentiate the individual forms with light and dark areas, thus clarifying shadows and perspective.

And here we can return to Feininger, who, especially in his graphic work, strove for the “ultimate form” in order to capture the essence of an object. Particularly in his woodcuts, almost all of which are represented in the Lyonel Feininger Gallery, Feininger experiments with forms and perspective, but, like Frank Nitsche, he never becomes abstract. Rather, the aim of these artistic experiments by both Feininger and Nitsche is to enable new perspectives on the depicted subject matter through the unusual arrangement of pictorial motifs. Exploring these new relationships, and thus the essence of things, their “inner” and their meaning “beyond the visible,” requires effort, dedication, and time.