To make this 1969 editioned painting, Roth brushed a thick layer of liquefied chocolate directly onto a heavy steel plate. Over time, the chocolate has cracked, developed a bloom (a thin, whitish layer of fat), and been host to tiny insects, as evidenced by the small holes covering the surface. The work is titled after the Rhine river—which flows through Basel, one of the cities where Roth lived for a time—and recalls his assertion that “nature looks like an abstract painting.”
Gallery label from Wait, Later This Will Be Nothing: Editions by Dieter Roth, February 17–June 24, 2013.
