Figur auf Grund takes these two classical terms, which originally come from cognitive linguistics, to describe how we perceive and define objects and separate them from their surroundings.

With roots in Gestalt Therapy, these terms have become central to the discussions of art. These designations became technical tools to approach the organization of a composition, and artists have studied the play between the two usually with the purpose of making the figure standout from the ground. With the advance of non-representational work and phenomenological art forms, the viewer themselves started to become the actual figure within the larger ground of the exhibition space.