Is intuition the “mother tongue” of painting?Although the title of this show—MOTHER TONGUE—initially evokes the artist’s mother tongue, it simultaneouslyrefers to his profound engagement with the act of painting, which lies at the core of his identity. As he notes: “Mywork is an exploration of how I perceive certain things. I can simply observe how people interact with each other. Ican observe what’s happening within relationships—observe power games, offerings, love, hate—but also deeperpsychological and philosophical questions about human nature, and most importantly, how I experience all of itand how I reflect on it.”One must experience Harm Gerdes’ works in person to fully appreciate that what may appear from a distance—oron-screen—as a digital composition, are in fact abstract painterly constructions on canvas. Vibrant fields of colour,organic forms, tangible materiality, and fluid motion all interacting dynamically creating the image.This ambiguity, the oscillation between virtual aesthetics and the physical world, reflects the transitions we allexperience daily between physical and digital realms. Yet, this passage corresponds only to the first reading – tothe artwork’s invitation. The details, revealed through a persistent gaze, express something more metaphysicaland personal.Although MOTHER TONGUE unfolds through references to previous bodies of work, it also marks a new phase inthe artist’s practice: one liberated from the urgency of referenciality, allowing the painting process itself to guidethe emergence of the image freely and intuitively.In a deliberate and demanding artistic choice, Gerdes refrains from anchoring his work in a specificnarrative—eschewing storytelling that might otherwise narrow the viewer’s reading to a more limitedinterpretation. Yet, a closer look reveals recurring motifs and central concerns that subtly permeate the work.The artist fuses contemporary aesthetics with fundamental questions that have preoccupied painting throughoutits history. The spaces that emerge from the layering of forms, the (serious) play between the notions of hierarchyand freedom, the moments of intimate familiarity in certain “neighbourhoods” within the paintings and thesudden transcendence of the familiar through unexpected transformation, the challenge of coexistence, and therhythmic construction and deconstruction of compositional balance; all of these persistently address the nature ofthe pictorial image—its creation and perception—while eliciting an instinctive aesthetic pleasure.

Although Gerdes’ work is technically accomplished and striking —even sometimes almost “mathematically”structured—it relies on intuition. He describes the layers, overlays, and complex relationships of forms in his workas an “archaeology of colour.” Within this framework, we can also perceive the impact of his daily experiences—such as Athens and Greece, where he moved in September 2022 and where he created the works on view. Hischoice of colours sometimes evokes the simplicity of the Greek summer (the artist has recently been reading Elytis)and at other times reflects the dense urban fabric he experiences in his everyday life.The title of a work may also function similarly: the piece Hommage to Elizabeth, for example, refers both to thename of his mother and to Elizabeth Murray, whose work has been a source of inspiration for the artist. Imageswithin images offer yet another way to read his work; in this piece, we can discern his interpretation of a familiarmotif by Gerhard Richter – also a painter from the School of Düsseldorf– whom Gerdes references when discussingthe authenticity of the painted image.Finally, the sense of joy that characterizes Gerdes’ work resonates both with the pleasant feeling we experiencewhen hearing our mother tongue – and the valuable sense of belonging, especially for those of us with more thanone homeland – and with the joy of discovery, the unforeseen resolution, and the aesthetic provocation that acompelling image can create.