This month Galerie Nicolas Robert is presenting the exhibition Afterimage by artist Jim Verburg. In this series of new works Verburg explores the complexities of light and shadow using the restrained monochromatic palette of white and black.

The artist created this body of work by rolling ink onto glass objects, which are then printed in multiple layers onto newsprint. Other techniques include the use of charcoal and powdered graphite which is applied to sections of translucent tape, and then transferred onto paper or sheets of semi-transparent mylar mounted on a black background.

The pieces presented in this show are moody and reflective. I felt like I was walking along the moors on a foggy morning, my vision obscured by the soft degradation of ink and charcoal that make up the landscape. Only a momentary piercing of sunlight cuts through the fog and gives shape to the shadows.

Verburg also makes use of transparent tape in his “Untitled” works (referred to as ‘the line between’ 1# and #2). These pieces remind me of wood grain, with their repeated straight lines dividing the picture plane into horizontal and vertical sections. They  are in stark contrast to the softer pieces using ink and shadow.

In another display of contrast, the artist has layered rectangular sheets of mylar onto a black background. The sheets are superimposed, with one sheet in particular tilting to the right. This gives the piece a three dimensional quality that draws the viewer’s focus towards the center of the image.

This body of abstract, minimalist works is both enigmatic and mysterious.

Galerie Nicolas Robert, space 524
Jim Verburg
Afterimage
April 19 to May 24, 2014
http://galerienicolasrobert.com