«Hess also shows how the language of economics infiltrates ever more aspects of the world, notably in a series of paintings in which the lines and curves of graphs form quietly shimmering traces of colour beneath the sensitive white surfaces. These diagrams imitate the vital use of line and the rhythmic energy of classic modernism, yet in this rarefied form they also suggest the ups and downs of share prices.
The fluctuations reflect the movements of money, which measure not just the market but also the forces that underpin a painting’s value. Although Hess avoids a romantic view of the brushstroke as a seismographic gauge of the shifting psyche, he challenges the gaze with both a thoughtful eye and a sensitive feel for the painter’s medium.»
From the Art critics of Harald Flor, for the newspaper Dagbladet.