"Colour is space in itself."
Jorrit Tornquist, 1974
With The idea of colour, ABC-ARTE ONE OF presents in Milan a new chapter devoted to Jorrit Tornquist's practice, one of the most rigorous and radical investigations into colour developed in Europe in the second half of the twentieth century. Curated by Flaminio Gualdoni and developed in collaboration with Archivio Jorrit Tornquist, the exhibition brings together works from the 1960s through to recent years, revealing the remarkable continuity of a practice spanning more than six decades.
Following Colour is Space in Itself, presented at ABC-ARTE's historic gallery in Genoa, The idea of colour unfolds as an autonomous yet complementary chapter, offering another perspective on the artist's research. At its core lies a radical conviction: colour is not an attribute of form, but the very substance of vision.
A key figure in the dialogue between art, architecture and colour theory, Tornquist developed a singular position within the European art landscape. His research brings artistic practice, science and environmental design into relation, examining colour as a physical and perceptual phenomenon capable of altering our experience of space.
At the heart of the exhibition is XY diagonal, 2013, developed from a 1975 project: an installation in which colour definitively leaves the pictorial surface and becomes a space to be entered. The work physically engages the viewer, transforming perception into experience and showing how colour can create relationships, alter the environment and redefine the way we inhabit space.
As Flaminio Gualdoni observes, "for Tornquist, colour is the problematic substance not only of our seeing, but also of seeing itself." His works do not simply ask to be observed: they invite the viewer to experience seeing as an active process, at the intersection of art, science and perception.
