James Merlin (b. 1960, UK)
Frame Paintings, 2010

I keep challenging and/or stress-testing categories. And a frame is a kind of category – or a metaphor for it. What’s inside and what’s outside, how is the boundary drawn, shaped, negotiated, enacted, casted, …? So while I have no clue what Merlin was after (although I can make some qualified guesses), I find his work focusing on the frames quite inspiring. Both as means to think further about my concepts, but also as example of how they could be materialised for more hands-on exploration. And yes, I have a series of maybe-paintings in progress where frame and framing is part of the consideration.