Page 8 - Oto Rimele | Singular

Oto Rimele
Lives and works in Mariborf, Slovenia
http://www.otorimele.com
Oto Rimele’s ar tistic vision is a rare fusion of
metaphysical inquiry and minimalist precision. His
recent exhibition, ’Yearnings of Light’, showcased at
Rajhenburg Castle in 2025, stands as a testament to
his ability to manipulate the intangible, light itself,
within the confines of material presence. His work is
not merely a dialogue between medium and message
but an existential meditation on the interplay between
perception and transcendence. Through the deliberate
structuring of acrylic on canvas supported by wooden
substructures, he invites the viewer into a luminous
experience that defies conventional artistic boundaries.
Rimele’s oeuvre is a masterclass in silent articulation.
His works, including ’The Conjunction’, ’The Pillar of
Radiance’, ’The Touch’, and ’The Caress of Gratitude’,
embody a spectral elegance that dissolves the weight
of physical form. Unlike traditional painters, who define
their narratives through color and composition on the
frontal plane, Rimele shifts the focus to the periphery,
the edges, the backs, the unseen dimensions of his
canvases. This gesture is not mere aesthetic deviation
but a radical reconfiguration of visual hierarchy. His
paintings refuse to be static entities; they become
spatial experiences that evolve under changing
light conditions, forcing the viewer into a state of
participatory perception. They exist not as singular
OTO RIMELE | SINGUL AR objects but as dynamic thresholds between presence
and absence.
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The central philosophical impetus of ’Yearnings of
Light’ is rooted in Rimele’s conception of radiance as
both material and metaphysical. Light is not depicted
in his work, it is created, absorbed, reflected, and
ultimately transcended. This approach situates his
practice within a lineage of spiritual modernism,
echoing the inquiries of James Turrell and Mark Rothko
yet remaining distinctly independent. His canvases
function as vessels of illumination, where the interplay
of natural and artificial light alters their form and
essence throughout the day. The wooden substructures
supporting the canvas serve a dual function: they
provide tangible grounding, yet simultaneously act as
conduits for ethereal dissipation.
Rimele’s mastery lies in his ability to distill complex
metaphysical ideas into deceptively simple forms. This
is evident in ’The Pillar of Radiance’, where the vertical
structure suggests not only an architectural presence
but a symbolic ascension toward the ineffable. The
tactile quality of ’The Touch’ reinforces his ongoing
exploration of presence and impermanence, where
the painted surface ceases to be a static endpoint
and instead transforms into an active participant in
the viewer’s experience. ’The Caress of Gratitude’,
perhaps the most poetically evocative piece in the
series, extends this inquiry into the realm of relational
awareness, the gratitude inherent in light’s ability to
reveal, console, and transcend.