Acrylic on aluminum. Monogrammed, dated and inscribed "45." on the reverse. 159.5 x 114.5 cm. . [EH].
- From the “Pure Freude” (Pure Joy) series. - Characteristic reduced pictorial language. - Color, surface and space are at the heart of his artistic work.

Since the late 1980s, Imi Knoebel has concentrated entirely on the effects of color, as in the "Pure Freude" (Pure Joy) series created around 2001, to which the present work belongs. The series is named after the cult record label founded by his wife Carmen in 1979; while Imi Knoebel's daughter runs a patisserie of the same name in Düsseldorf today. Thus "Pure Joy" seems to be a statement of creativity in action. Formally, the entire work complex is dedicated to the fragmentation of the vertical format in a slight variation: the monochrome ground, structured only by the visible brushstroke, is interrupted by a formally corresponding rectangle in contrasting colors. In our work, a rectangle in rich red pushes itself from the lower edge of the picture in front of the brighter surface. The composition is accentuated by a small gap between the contrasting surfaces. This work is infused with Imi Knoebel's working method, for whom the exploration of color, color surface, and space has been the focus of his artistic work from the very beginning.