On view until 26 July 2025
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris Marais
In his latest exhibition etcetera, Imi Knoebel expands the language of abstraction with sharp formal clarity and poetic material restraint. Now showing at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Paris Marais through July 26, 2025, the exhibition offers a powerful survey of recent works that bridge colour, structure, and the intimate gesture.
Knoebel uses colour as a sculptural element — a force that interacts directly with shaped surfaces. Since the 1990s, he has painted on aluminium panels, creating precise compositions where geometry and chromatic intensity meet. Each form reflects a balance between control and spontaneity, while the painted gestures, though deliberate, carry a deeply human rhythm.
Influenced by early exposure to Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square, Knoebel once said that moment gave him “the overwhelming feeling that I could start at nothing.” That freedom still guides his approach. He strips painting down to its essential materials and lets them speak through shape, space, and energy. His method aligns with the minimalist tradition of artists like Ellsworth Kelly, yet Knoebel maintains a tactile immediacy that resists pure reduction.
The artist’s journey began in Dessau in 1940. As a student in Darmstadt and later under Joseph Beuys in Düsseldorf, he cultivated an experimental spirit early on. His iconic work Raum 19 (1968) — composed of unpainted Masonite modules — set the foundation for decades of bold exploration in form and volume.
Today, his works continue to oscillate between painting and sculpture, never fixed, always responsive. Art historian Max Wechsler described this dynamic perfectly: “The pictorial ground sets firm limits… but Knoebel rebels against it with small-scale densifications… becoming almost independent as an internal configuration.”
Through etcetera, Knoebel demonstrates how minimal means can still lead to maximal emotion. His forms don’t illustrate; they resonate.
Through etcetera, Knoebel demonstrates how minimal means can still lead to maximal emotion. His forms don’t illustrate; they resonate.
Exhibition Info:
Imi Knoebel – etcetera
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris Marais
Until 26 July 2025
7 Rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris, France
Sources:
Imi Knoebel
Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery
………………….
Explore More Art News:
Borderline – Group Art Exhibition
Jenny Saville’s Powerful Works in London
