Untitled (Cube)
175 x 55 x 55 cm, 2016, oil paint on wood, acquired by Deloitte Rotterdam (NL), Photography by Sophie de Vos

Untitled (Cube) is a sculpture by Donald Schenkel in which the illusion of an endless space as expressed by his gradients is defaulted by turning them into a geometrical object.

This work is part of the Archaic Shadows series:

Opposed to the expense of lightness there is the depth expressed by shadows. Depth found in gradients where lighter colours dissolve into darkening twilights. Again a book led me to find the words for what I made: In Praise of Shadows pointed out the beauty of what we would consider as darkness.

Shadows linger on the edge of the unknown, mystical and dark. Often made on wood and sometimes appearing as sculptures, these color transitions are grounded but deep. As my first venture into sculptural paintings these works sparked my attention to the object, the artefact and the archaic. This sensation of the ancient and otherworldly fits the idea of a silent wonder well yet contains a potency to be further explored.