Ralf Altrieth (1966) - Petit Bois N°36

Ralf Altrieth (Heilbronn, 1966).

Painting on wood, 'Petit Bois No. 36', 2011

20 x 20 cm (ready to hang)

SOLD by: Recodier Art - agent, France

DOCUMENTATION :

A dated and signed certificate of authenticity is included.

DESCRIPTION :

Signed on the back 'Ralf Altrieth', in pencil.
Marked 'RA11' with paint on the front.

This small painting on wood centers on a fragmented face, almost split in two by a thick black line that traverses the composition. The features are deliberately accentuated, sometimes blunt, while the color flows freely between the shapes, creating an unstable balance between construction and spillover.

The eyes, wide and asymmetrical, are the anchor point of the gaze. They seem to observe as much as they are observed, giving the figure an intense, almost confrontational presence. Around them, successive layers of green, blue, pink, ochre, and white intertwine, revealing the wood in the background, which adds depth and warmth to the whole.

The face is not described, but suggested: it is built up in strokes, in fragments, in visible reiterations of the gesture. The contours remain open, as if the figure could still transform, slip, and reassemble itself in a different way.

With its intimate format and its wooden support, this work exudes a contained force. It invites close, attentive observation of material variations, of the tensions between line and color, and of the sensation of a face captured in a state of passage, between appearance and erasure.

RALF ALTRIETH (born in 1966 in Heilbronn, Germany) is a German painter and musician living in France since 2006. He has been expressing himself for over thirty years through a diverse artistic practice, which includes painting, drawing, linocut, installations, sculpture and photography, as well as contemporary music and jazz.

Very early drawn to the visual arts, he takes private lessons with painter Georg Schaible at the age of 14, before joining the Nürtingen Academy of Fine Arts from 1987 to 1989. In parallel, he discovers and practices the saxophone and jazz from the age of 20.

The career of Ralf Altrieth is defined by total artistic freedom: from his early days he has claimed an autonomy of creation that is expressed through a wide diversity of media and artistic languages.

He has lived and worked in several European cities — including Berlin, Freiburg, Erlangen, Paris and Venice — before settling permanently in the south of France, where he develops his practice.

Ralf Altrieth has exhibited in numerous galleries and cultural venues in France and abroad, including the Hartmut Beck Gallery in Erlangen, MAC Paris, the Galerie Théo de Seine in Paris, Galerie N5 in Montpellier, the Château d’Assas, and other art spaces. His works are in private collections in Europe and beyond.

In addition to his visual practice, he is the co-founder of the music label Meta Records and has collaborated with many musicians, often incorporating music as a source of inspiration into his visual work.

His work is frequently described as living at the intersection of gestural expressionism, neo-expressionism, and lyrical abstraction, where line and color function as a form of writing that explores movement, spontaneity, and intuitive narration.