The production of Irma Blank fits into the minimal-conceptual neo-avant- gardes of the late 1960s, proposing a radical and very personal solution
to the issue of pursuit of an inexpressive and de-subjectivized art. In this historical-artistic perspective, the ego and the existence of the artist still enter the perimeter of the work, but through an attitude that is as impersonal as possible. The artist records the time of living through signs and images that are repeated and executed mechanically.
Since the beginning Irma Blank immediately focused - as she says - “on writing, stripping it of meaning to charge it with other values. A writing purified of sense, an automatic sign that gives voice to the silence”. This is precisely the solution, as radical as it is personal, of Irma Blank: a writing not linked to knowledge, but to being.
Papers, sheets, canvases, books are the surfaces on which the relationship between sign and time is played out. Ink, ballpoint pen, pastels, watercolours, acrylic are tools through which the signs occupy the surfaces, and the surfaces record the time of an existence through gestures.
From the start of her career, the work of Irma Blank has been structured in series of pieces, like phases or movements, even very small ones, along
an absolutely coherent itinerary. Starting with a limited nucleus of themes and questions, each cycles is crossfaded and linked with the next in a fluid, natural progression. ...
The name P420 is inspired by Pantone 420, a universally recognized shade of grey known for its ability to serve as the perfect background, enhancing whatever it accompanies. P420 thus emerges as a platform whose primary aim is to embrace and elevate artistic ideas and expressions, fostering their harmonious coexistence within a context that supports, encourages, and celebrates diversity and innovation. Here, every voice can resonate powerfully and distinctly, much like a work of art standing out against the backdrop of Pantone 420.
P420 has been instrumental in the rediscovery of artists such as Irma Blank, Laura Grisi, Ana Lupas, and Stephen Rosenthal, collaborating directly with the artists or, when necessary, with their heirs or the Estates representing them. Through exhibitions, off-site projects, fairs, and a strong online presence, the gallery also supports the evolving narratives of contemporary art, initiating and supporting the journey of many young emerging talents like Victor Fotso Nyie, Francis Offman, and Shafei Xia. ...
