The drawings in the Graphs series show a series of static and compositional lines. There does not seem to be a reliable pattern in the individual drawings; they give a random impression. The work shows the viewer an interplay between concrete and mathematical approaches to art. In keeping with Philipp Valenta's other works, in which he deals with topics such as economics, money, and everyday life and combines them in his artistic works, Graphs forms a bridge to these worlds. The display of the various individual pieces in the series on a board or wall, evenly and accurately hung at equal distances from each other, is reminiscent of a presentation in an office, school, or university. One automatically compares the ink and pencil drawings with each other, as if they were statistics or, following the title of the work, graphs. In addition, Philipp Valenta completely dispenses with a legend that refers to the content of the individual drawings or even to a connection between them. The viewer literally searches for a meaning in the graphs, which, however, they artificially create through their image. Only the manner of presentation as “pure compositions of lines” allows a connection to be established between them.

Text: Leoni Bianka Reiber, art historian