Output 6, 2026

Mark Hellbusch  

belongs to the series Schmiertafel, in which Mark Hellbusch examines the relationship between preparation, control, speed, and chance.
The painting differs significantly from many more color-intensive works of the series. A large, dark field of gray, muted green, and violet tones dominates the center of the painting. The color appears almost closed in places but remains permeable: traces of turquoise, pink, orange, yellow, and light gray appear under and beside the dark area. These colors emerge particularly in the upper and side areas. Small color remnants and irregularities remain visible and make the process of creation part of the surface.
As with the others, there is a relatively long preparation at the beginning. The actual painting, however, happens within a few minutes. In this short phase, the prepared order is overlaid, shifted, and partially erased. Decisions must be made immediately; correction and control lose importance.
The title Output deliberately adopts a language that we know from digital systems and artificial intelligence: an input is followed by a process – and finally a result. Hellbusch transfers this principle to a completely analog, physical process. Color, movement, speed, and material react with each other and make the result only partially predictable.
In this, this process does not lead to a loud, colorful painting, but to an unusually calm and condensed work. The color seems to sometimes disappear under the dark surface and reappear in other places. The plan determines the beginning – not the result.