What is the temperature of a painting?
A question that can be of great interest when considering so-called radical, concrete or monochrome painting, since this form of intensification of the abstract picture aims at more than the mere representation of the material at the zero point.
The fact that pictures can also have a temperature does not necessarily mean that their tempering only has to be a symbolic pretense for the willing viewer. With his picture panels, Thomas Mükisch examines the temperatures to which a picture can be exposed in a material sense.
His self-made, heat-sensitive crayons are rubbed onto a picture carrier coated with aluminum oxide or silicon carbide, which has previously been partially exposed to sunlight. In those areas that have warmed to over 46°C, the chalk melts, in the cooler areas it remains as a solid material.
With this process, Thomas Mükisch’s central theme unfolds: temperature that has become visible.