Ulrich Panzer: Frequencies

People with synesthesia may be able to hear, smell or taste these circular paintings.

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Synesthesia is a neurological condition that co-mingles the senses. A person may smell a flower and suddenly see particular colours or touch an object and hear a sound. This phenomenon is familiar to German-born Ulrich Panzer, who has spent years travelling and researching the relationship between sound and colour.

The latest manifestation of his quest is an exhibition of paintings, Frequencies, at the Christine Klassen Gallery in Calgary until Oct. 6. 

Panzer’s works, completed over the last four years, contain series of concentric circles in different colours. They range in diameter from 41 inches to 60 inches and, according to the gallery, radiate “unique light and colour frequencies.”

Panzer, who once spent a year in a studio in Tibet, begins each painting by thinking about music or other sounds. Some viewers, he says, immediately ascertain the source. Others have totally different reactions.

“The paintings can initially be inspired by certain internally perceived tone combinations, geometrical constellations or musical fragments,” says Panzer, who now divides his time between Berlin and Kingston, Ont. “The Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi, for example, has been such an inspiration for many years.

“Yet it is essential to understand that the works neither illustrate nor translate chords or music into colour. When I paint, those references are soon left behind and the process takes on a dynamic of its own. How a viewer responds to a painting, or resonates with it, is very personal, though some people get a very clear idea of the source.”

In 2015, when Panzer exhibited his paintings at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston, several visitors had forms of synesthesia, including colour-smell. One person, he says, gave each work a title, such as Rave, Lullaby and Portal.

“Some people felt inclined to do yoga exercises in the exhibition space or sat in deep contemplation in front of the paintings. Singers and other musicians ask on a regular basis if they can improvise in the presence of the works.”

Panzer does not call himself a synesthete. “My form of synesthesia is rather conceptual and metaphorical,” he says. “It can be limiting to put labels on sensitivity.”  ■

Ulrich Panzer: Frequencies is on view at the Christine Klassen Gallery in Calgary from Sept. 4 to Oct. 6, 2018.

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