Frederik De Wilde, Carroll/Fletcher

What is blacker than black? In Carroll/Fletcher Gallery’s latest exhibition, Belgian artist Frederik De Wilde has answered just that. Made from a material so dark that it actually absorbs light, NanoBlck-Sqr#1 is an unsettling void. Applied to an aluminium canvas, De Wilde’s series of carbon nano bundles are completely absent of colour, creating a sense of boundless and destabilizing immateriality.
Driving the nano revolution in art, De Wilde explores the limits of science, technology and art to create tremendous grey areas where biological and technological spheres blend. In this particular work, De Wilde has teamed up with NASA technology to use nano-engineered material that explores the invisible and intangible. De Wilde sees his creation as a philosophical and scientific example of doubt in action; the unsure questioning of what can be blacker than black. Silencing the white noise of the world around us, De Wilde has created an introverted gallery experience where viewers are asked to stare into the void.
You might liken De Wilde’s fascination with blackness to Yves Klein’s blue and his audacious experimentation with the colour. De Wilde has simply made the black version. Like Yves Klein, the deeply conceptual premise of De Wilde’s contemporary artwork feels a little precarious, but is nevertheless intriguing.
Just be careful when visiting one of the finest small art galleries London not to tumble into the void.