In 14 new works, former Gerhard Richter student Pia Fries gives her playful paintings an edge by adding abstract black-and-white geometrical shapes and stenciled drawings. In Ohne titel (Dyp 1), angular trapezoids background black petals rendered in the style of 17th-century botanical illustrations. Juxtaposed with warm pastel washes and earthy dashes of sculptural oil paint, the flowers suddenly seem sterile and rigid. Through this contrast of the mechanical with the organic, Fries brings a new intensity to her painting. For Kandinsky, black was devoid of sound; for Fries, black is an amplifier.

-MS