at first glance, looking at the works of serena amrein and françoise malaprade, one might think they couldn’t be more different. in serena amrein, we encounter an outstanding drawing artist who takes us into a fascinating, constructively grounded, and predominantly black-and-white universe of strokes and lines, while françoise malaprade’s paintings enchant us with their colors, which could not be more radiant or luminous. to measure the world through line is to perceive it more geometrico. those who view it through the lens of color, however, see it through the prism of emotion. yet the work of these two artists is not quite that simple. anyone inclined to see them merely as protagonists of a rational versus an emotional perception of the world is missing the mark. clarity and precision, as well as seduction and enchantment, are not mutually exclusive in the works of either artist.

serena amrein’s drawings derive their impact from a consistent reduction of pictorial elements. she does not use the line as a medium for depicting objects or figures, but rather explores it as an element in its own right. through repetition, condensation, displacement, and superimposition, complex structures emerge that both guide and challenge our gaze. from simple linear arrangements, multi-layered pictorial spaces emerge that oscillate between order and movement, between cosmos and chaos, between rule and transgression. amrein enlivens the strict order of her compositions through minimal deviations, rhythmic shifts, and optical illusions. this creates a subtle tension between rationality and sensuality.

a central aspect of amrein’s work is the move beyond the traditional drawing pencil. the guided hand, which glides a graphite or chalk pencil across the surface, is replaced by a rope, a cord, or a chalk line—a tool traditionally used in construction. this medium is saturated with pure pigment powder or chalk and flung onto the picture surface—large-format paper, canvas, or the bare wall of a gallery or museum. the act is a performative event that extends far beyond the visual. the sudden impact of the rope is acoustically present in the room like the crack of a whip. what remains on the picture surface is the visual equivalent of this acoustic and physical impulse.

a fine example of this is “q1” (2022). on a black canvas, one sees two intersecting white pigment lines created using a flogging cord. the artist has folded her canvas diagonally over a wooden rod mounted horizontally on the wall and supplemented the black section of the canvas with a wall painting that is also black, so that one believes one can recognize malevich’s famous black square in the composition. amrein references this icon of suprematist constructivism while simultaneously countering its idealistic pathos through the optical illusionism of her installation. while serena amrein brings the strict parameters of minimal art and constructivism to life in this and other works, françoise malaprade (1930–2024) sought to moderate and harmonize the emotional fluctuations of color in her art. rather than excess and emotional outbursts, elegance and beauty were the hallmarks of her paintings. she devoted herself to them with the utmost dedication, cognitive meticulousness, and mathematical rigor. much like amrein—who was born in switzerland in 1964 and for whom drawing is a form of “manual thinking”—malaprade even referred to herself as a peintre-auteur—that is, a painter who also reflected on herself and her painting through words and writing. her works from the 1990s, which consist of panels combining images and text, are a fine example of this.

in them, she describes why she paints on wafer-thin, transparent plastic film, using both its front and back sides; why she prefers opaque, quick-drying acrylic paint; and how she bases the dimensions of her paintings on le corbusier’s modulor system and the golden ratio. by using polyester as a painting surface and applying acrylic paint to both sides, she was able to create a translucent space in which the colors do not merely lie on the surface but interact through the medium itself. in this way, she succeeded in transforming color into light. this was, in a sense, the essence of her endeavor and the guiding principle of her painting. “lux = lex” was the latin formula she cited to express this. it makes it clear that the sublimation and spiritualization of color were her highest goals.

once malaprade had determined the format of the sheet, she mathematically subdivided the surface. in doing so, she used the values of the modulor to calculate her characteristic vertical stripes, horizontal segments, and squares. this created an internal architecture on the surface that, despite its mathematical rigor, is perceived by the human eye as balanced and pleasing because it follows the golden ratio. the most complex step was then the application of the paint. malaprade viewed the modulor series as a musical score. she used geometry to tame the emotional power of color, which is inherently emotionally and psychologically charged. in particular, the highly intense cadmium tones favored by françoise malaprade—such as the vibrant cadmium red or the dazzling cadmium yellow—possess enormous power in this regard. when applied uncontrollably, these colors tend to overwhelm the viewer emotionally and produce an intoxicating effect.

thus, the two artists’ recourse to constructivism is underpinned by a remarkable paradox. they do not employ it because they are searching for ultimate aesthetic forms and formulas, even if this may seem to be the case with malaprade à première vue. rather, they make use of it to bring the nature of the condition humaine more clearly before our eyes. in serena amrein’s works, the rationalism of the line repeatedly goes astray, revealing what immanuel kant already knew about human beings: that they are made of crooked wood that refuses to straighten. and in françoise malaprade’s paintings, the emotionality of color must constantly be reined in to achieve harmony and beauty.

michael stoeber