In the cut paintings, there is a subtle play between the language of the image and the significance of the image, and this gives rise to questions. Here, even the lack of concept or idea seems to be elevated to an image by the artist.

Inside the Vishal, we see black aluminium creations by the artist Martijn Sandberg. Texts are concealed in the objects that you only see when you walk past them, or as soon as you take a photograph of them. 'Sorry No Image Yet' is the funniest.

A cut painting plays with light and shadow. Even the lack of image is elevated to image. Gazing at the perforated surface from different viewing angles, a range of letters appears and disappears within the figuration: ‘Sorry No Image Yet’.

"I don’t paint, but cut my paintings. I make ‘cut paintings’. Just as in the cut painting ‘Cut The Crap’, ‘cut painting’ becomes an imperative slogan to chant: ‘Cut painting!” MS

Works by Martijn Sandberg are on view in his exhibition 'Cut Painting!' at the former Aldo van Eyck Burgerweeshuis, BPD Kunstcollectie, Amsterdam. Martijn Sandberg has made a selection of his own works - the cut paintings - for this exhibition, as well as works of art from the BPD Art Collection.

"Art costs a pretty penny, but then you do have something to show for it. The work of art is synonymous with the title: wasted time, and money down the drain. It is indeed this aspect that makes art meaningful and determines the value of art, for art is in essence pointless. Art is distinct from the functional, art does not serve. Art refers to art, and only serves the muse." MS

“When asked “What do you think of the painting?”, my answer is often: ‘’What I like most about the painting, is the title.’’ My artworks have no titles. The cut paintings are ‘untitled’. The title is the artwork, the artwork is the title.” MS

'Too Busy To Paint’ - Another nice excuse, from the cut paintings.

“All the cut paintings have no date. Like a signature in the bottom right hand corner, putting a date there is so out of date. My cut paintings are ‘undated’ – in other words, ‘timeless’ and of all times.” MS

"The muse is my client. I listen carefully. I listen to the murmur of the muse. “Paint it white, shining bright”. Her word is law. The canvas is white.” MS

“I make language-images with image language. I do not procure letters from some existing font obtainable from a supermarket. I don’t shop around in what I call ‘Letter Paradise’, for convenience’s sake. I sing a different tune when casting my letters. All the letter forms you see in my work are by my own hand, just as a painter creates the figuration on canvas himself.” MS

A painting hangs on the wall, titled ‘Im Westen nichts Neues’. Drips on the canvas compose a message from the Art Land front: ‘Nothing new, nothing the matter, we continue to paint’.

“A cut painting is ‘serious fun’. How do you give form to a painting without content? What is actually to be seen on a painting without content? The work of art is complete. The paint is finalised. Don’t do anything more. It is time for a painter’s rhyme: ‘What fun, canvas done’.” MS

"As soon as a painting comes off the easel and the wet paint dries, the canvas alters and ages right before your eyes. The sparkling colours become dull. The craquelé sets in. The painting is ready for the dump." MS

“As soon as a painting comes off the easel and the wet paint dries, the canvas alters and ages right before your eyes. The sparkling colours become dull. The craquelé sets in. The painting is ready for the dump.” MS

"Suppose we strip the painting of any depiction. What do you get if you reduce the painting without depiction to even less than pure paint on canvas? What does the artwork look like when you peel it down even more? Now it becomes interesting. I call it ‘art stripped bare’." MS

“A cut painting’s composition comprises holes. We look right through the ‘paint’ of the ‘painting’. Filling surfaces is my craft, I fill the surface with holes.” MS

“I make Image Messages. I appeal to your imagination with the cut paintings. I supply the ‘refrain’ with the ‘letters & lyrics’. You invent the ‘couplets’ yourself, as it were. “Well, is this it? Is this all?”, you then say. Then I laugh up my sleeve and say: ”Yes, that’s it. That’s all. Nothing more. Nothing less. And you’ll just have to put up with it. Other than that, see if I care!’’ MS

"Another painting by Pity, the poor artist. It is my self-portrait as the 'penniless painter': "My name is Pity, the poor artist"." MS

In the cut paintings, such as ‘Sorry No Image Yet’ and ‘No Image No Message’, there is a subtle play between the language of the image and the significance of the image, and this gives rise to questions. Here, even the lack of image seems to be elevated to an image by the artist.

Installation view 'No Image No Message', solo exhibition 'Image Messages'. Galerie Markus Richter, Berlin/ D, 2002. Wallpaper and perforated aluminium series #1-#6.