Jürgen Partenheimer at White Cube Bermondsey

For Jürgen Partenheimer, art is a matter of space, context and balance – the very heart of the matter, in fact. For more than 40 years, the Munich-born multi-media creative force has stormed across Europe and into North America with some of the most philosophical, quiet and considered creations that either continent has seen.

So why haven’t you heard of him (and it’s more than likely that you haven’t)? Much of the reason lies in Partenheimer’s avoidance – thus far – of London. Until now, seekers after his work in Britain would have had to travel up to Birmingham to see any. An exhibition there nearly 10 years ago pulled in plaudits – an intriguing taster which pundits believed would lead, surely, to a major follow-up show in the capital. That didn’t happen. Until now.

So what have Londoner art-lovers been missing out on? Partenheimer creates works that explore the sense of ‘incomplete’ space, dimension and fluidity. In a word: unsettling. He is especially sensitive to the siting and presentation of his art – and that means that the space in which the work is presented becomes as much part of his statement as the created object. He likes you to think about where his art ends (and once you begin to think about that, who knows where you’ll wind up).

Partenheimer's starting point is a striking presence, characteristically out of balance and asymmetrical. In the past, he has created wire mesh forms, forests of delicate sticks, wildly contrasting canvases, delicate, sparse works on paper, decorated porcelain – all of them lacking a sense of completeness through their off-centredness and carefully ‘unfinished’ finish. In Axis Mundi, he presents 13 teetering bronze cubes, each one a shade of vivid blue (on public show until the middle of May at Cullum Street, EC3, in the heart of the City, between Fenchurch Street and Leadenhall Market). Is it finished? What does it tell you about the surrounding space? How do you feel about it? Go see – it’s free.

It is something of a coup for White Cube Bermondsey to secure Partenheimer’s first London show. Entitled Lichtschwarm – light swarm – this is a major event, showcasing works dating back to the mid 1970s, right up to the present. A great opportunity to catch up on one of Europe’s leading philosopher-artists, showing in London for the first time.