The monochrome, over the past century, has edged painting closer to the parameters of its own surface. The lasting tension in the monochrome may perhaps be due largely to the inherent paradox that in achieving the absolute, the monochrome approaches the extreme gravity of ‘zero content and infinite meaning’.1
The work of PJ Hickman enters this zone, this ‘zero degree’ of painting. Over a sustained period, Hickman has set about reconstructing the repetitious possibilities of a reductive logic, a logic that is inherited from the serial effects of minimal abstraction. In his most recent series Hickman again plays a minimalist game as he continues to zero in, this time on the name.
These names are seen as one enters Sophie Gannon Gallery. Sparsely arranged and symmetrically hung, Hickman’s discreetly sized paintings which each bear an individual name, all retain a uniform scale and composition: all are monochromatic and dark, and all meticulously painted. With the name of the artist there boldly stated in white text against the muted tone of the monochrome surface.
Who is listed? Some are more recognised then others. Here I shall spare you the list, though I must say there are several pivotal figures. Produced in three series, Hickman begins with ten of the forefathers of non-representational painting. The two remaining series consists of the names of the six Australian representatives for the last Venice Biennale, and the ten stable artists represented by Sophie Gannon herself.
In already ‘hijacking’ the naming rights of those artists who are commercially represented, Hickman further agitates their value by displaying the paintings along with the custom made boxes in which they are kept. Stacked on plinths and also placed