Benjamin Appel's works deal with the rectangle as a possible reduction strategy of complex systems. Rectangular forms are abstractions of a boundary structure. Appel thus examines the realities of processes of form-finding, such as a mattress, a floor tile, or a wall tile. Landscapes in a rectangular photograph are mapped through the edges and related to the rectangular shape of the tabletop or wall. The view from the rectangular window defines the surroundings as a rectangular view.

In the paintings shown here, Appel makes use of simple instructions for action, which in their actual implementation prove to be poetic patterns of action. In the idea of filling a house with washing machines, the individual washing machines as well as the house are stripped of their original functions: the washing machines stacked in the house cannot be used as washing machines and the house filled with washing machines cannot be entered.