Nick Oberthaler. Zweifel und Gnade/Le Doute et la Grâce

Nick Oberthaler is a draftsman whose work is characterized by a range of intriguing techniques.

Although he refers to his works as “drawings,” he frequently incorporates paint and ink, often combined with pasted fragments. Paper remains his preferred support, which he describes as his “canvas,” largely because of its fragile and sensitive qualities. The marks made on its surface are largely irreversible. The paper may become damaged in the process, and the artist deliberately subjects it to a rough treatment.

At the same time, paper allows for a high degree of subtlety. Oberthaler works with a variety of materials—such as ink and wax, pastel and gouache, or watercolor—whose interaction produces unpredictable effects and a particular tension on the surface of the sheet.

In his compositions, Oberthaler frequently combines multiple sources and media, including photographs and photocopies of images taken from books, magazines, or the internet. Untitled (vertical horizon / after Philip de Koninck) (2011), for example, is a small drawing executed in ink and pastel. The materials are visibly layered on top of one another. Broad brushstrokes frame the central area, where a postcard has been glued onto the sheet with its reverse side facing outward. The image reveals the characteristically hazy skies associated with the landscapes of Philip de Koninck, though Oberthaler partially obscures the motif with a thick black stripe.

The spatial structure of the drawing is organized around a perspectival construction whose vanishing point—located within the postcard—appears like a window opening onto an off-center horizon.