Mounted at an angle, the two white wood panels that make up Weiße Konstellation (1975/1996) by artist Imi Knoebel (b. 1940, Dessau) appear, at first glance, to be identical. However, a slight discrepancy in the angle of one of the panels confuses the viewer’s spatial perception. The work forms part of a series of white monochromes, produced between 1968 and 1975, in which Knoebel explores different combinations of quadrilateral shapes.

Weiße Konstellation explores the tensions between materiality and immateriality. Knoebel presents a form of painting that is sculptural, the thickness of the wood underlining the concrete presence of the object whilst creating an image of purity through the use of white, which he associates with infinity, the cosmos and with nothingness. Making explicit reference to the theoretical principles of Suprematism developed by Kasimir Malevitch (b. 1879, Kiev – d. 1938, Leningrad) in 1915, he questions the originality of a work of art, recreating this piece. Originally made in 1975 it exists in at least two other versions including this one made in 1996.