After a map of Eretz Israel from the book Boundaries of the Land by Rabbi Joshua Feiwel ben Israel, Grodno, 1813, Panel 9

Four panels from the series After a map of Eretz Israel from the book Boundaries of the Land by Rabbi Joshua Feiwel ben Israel, Grodno, 1813, show patterns of geometric precision on white surfaces. With these strict traces – resulting from a print made with oil paint on ceramic plates – Florian Pumhösl delivers a concise view of the maps made by the Rabbi Joshua Feiwel ben Israel in the 19th century.

The production process for this series – the minimalist representation of an imaginary land inspired by ancient texts – evokes the aesthetic principles of the early 20th century avant-garde movements. With this process of extreme reduction, Pumhösl delivers an abstract visual language that thrives on utopian ideas.

These panels by Florian Pumhösl, from the series After a map of Eretz Israel from the book Boundaries of the Land by Rabbi Joshua Feiwel ben Israel, Grodno, 1813, are part of the Pinault Collection. They were first shown at the 2016 “Accrochage” ("Hanging") exhibition at the Punta della Dogana.