Jan verwoert tomma abts biography

Jan Verwoert is an art historian and critic based in Berlin. He writes, among others, for Afterall and Metropolis M and is a contributing editor of Frieze Magazine. Verwoert teaches at the Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam and at the Royal College of Art in London.

His 2005 essay, Emergence: On the Painting of Tomma Abts discusses the theory of Emergence as a model for which the painting process can be based.

Emergence can be interpreted in numerous ways and here it is defined as the point reached in a critical situation whereby a decision must be made.

Jan verwoert tomma abts biography

Verwoert admits that he is still in the process of grasping this concept and it is this very predicament that makes it all the more appealing to him. He aligns it with the same predicament of defining the painting process, as most models of critique fail to encompass every aspect of production.

“Reflections on painting must always do justice to the irreducible difference between result, reason and process. In most cases