Color Coded

Group Show; Bode, Berlin

Curated by Dexter Wimberly

April 29, 2023 - May 28, 2023

Installation views at Bode, Berlin

Color Coded

Color is not real. Despite our extraordinary experience of color perception, all colors are mere illusions, in the sense that, although people normally think that objects appear colored because they are colored, this belief is mistaken. It is the purview of the skilled artist to harness the illusion of color to create meaningful work. Artists invented the first pigments—a combination of soil, animal fat, burnt charcoal, and chalk—as early as 40,000 years ago, creating a basic palette of five colors: red, yellow, brown, black, and white. Since then, the history of color has been one of perpetual discovery, whether through exploration or scientific advancement. However, color is not a physical property of an object - it is a sensation, just like smell or taste. Neither objects nor lights are colored, but colors are the result of neural processes. Paradoxically, color can affect our mood, heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration.

If color is in fact an illusion, how do we assess our relationship with visual art? What are the things happening beyond our mind’s ability to process? What is coded beyond our perception? Through figuration and abstraction, the ten artists in Color Coded push the possibilities of color as a tool to stimulate our imagination and challenge our visual senses.

Press Release