Thierry De Cordier and Mark Rothko: A Spiritual Kinship in Monochrome

Thierry De Cordier's exhibition 'NADA' at Fondazione Prada's cisterna in Milan presents black, layered monochrome paintings that evoke silence and mystery. The show is described as an altar, a field of mourning, and a resonance chamber. The article draws a parallel between De Cordier and Mark Rothko, emphasizing a spiritual rather than formal affinity. Both artists interrogate the divine through their work: Rothko, a Jewish painter, questioned God like Job, while De Cordier engages with Baroque Christianity, referencing Rubens and Velázquez, moving toward an aesthetic of annihilation. The title 'NADA' references the mystical 'nothing' of St. John of the Cross, a threshold to union with God. De Cordier's paintings are seen as a kenosis, an emptying of painting itself. The cisterna space, subterranean and silent like a tomb, becomes a place where the question of God persists without answer. The article concludes that both artists offer not comfort but a fidelity to the question, making art a custodian of enigma.