Raphaela Simon's 'Blaue nacht' at Michael Werner Gallery Rome: Minimalism Meets Romanticism

Raphaela Simon's solo exhibition 'Blaue nacht' at Michael Werner Gallery in Rome presents a series of paintings and sculptures that attempt to merge minimalism with romanticism. The show features human heads both in large paintings and as lightweight fabric sculptures placed on the floor, which the critic finds the most intriguing. These sculptures are described as bizarre and bewitching, resembling strange cushions or Easter Island statues, evoking a sense of ambivalence. The large paintings, many with a poetic and dark atmosphere, reference the Blaue Reiter movement, an early 20th-century artistic group that pioneered the fusion of modernism and romanticism. However, the critic argues that the human figure and nocturnal lyricism do not suit Simon's minimalist and pop attitude, and the transition to this new dimension feels incomplete. The archetypal busts appear wooden rather than iconic, and the schematic human heads are merely grave. The works without human figures are more successful, evoking a suspended reality on the verge of aniconism, reminiscent of Tom Wesselman but with an intimate, European sensibility akin to Domenico Gnoli. Overall, the exhibition is described as interlocutory and out of focus, suggesting a transitional phase in Simon's oeuvre.