Balth, Carel

Carel Balth (Rotterdam, November 25, 1939 – Vreeland, July 10, 2019) was a Dutch artist and curator. He was self-taught and lived and worked in the Netherlands and Italy. Between 1987 and 1999 he worked regularly from his studio in White Street in New York. The main themes in his work are light, time, space and movement. Balth has made many different kinds of works in his career, but his hallmark is exploring the intersections between abstract photography, painting and new media. 60s/70s: Light Objects In the late 1960s, he began with the abstract Light Objects, made of crystal-clear plexiglass, sometimes combined with metal bands. By cutting the material and then projecting artificial light onto the object, he creates special light and shadow lines and shapes on the wall, creating a new composition. He had several exhibitions at the avant-garde Galerie Swart in Amsterdam. Mondriaan and Lucio Fontana are important for the development of his work. The straight line, which divides and connects at the same time, is an element that recurs throughout Balth's oeuvre. 70s/80s: Abstract Photography Balth uses various techniques to delve into the interplay of light and time. In the 70s and...