”2 painters/a meeting in reverse”

09/01 – 07/03/2010

Loek GROOTJANS and Charl van ARK painterly activities focus on the rearranging of images in a reductivist handling of existing material. They utilise materials which often form part of their personal history, an approach whereby memory functions as a filter: what is superfluous is discarded, only the essence remains. Every fragment finds its place in a small retrospective of sorts. Every retrospection is a layer of what-has-been-produced-already.

As a painter, Loek Grootjans started with the painting of monochromes. His paintings originate from an experiment Grootjans undertook in 1988: the month-long solitary confinement of the painter in utter darkness. This led to him ‘seeing’ two specific colours. These two colours form the basis for Grootjans’ paintings. Grootjans finds the reproduction of that period’s experience to be an exacting exercise. The quantity of paint to be used is strictly determined ahead of time. Every spilled drop or spot is carefully recycled. This system presupposes an ultimate running out of paint and the inevitable end of the actual painting. Until now, Grootjans has been very consistent in this respect.

In 1998, Loek Grootjans set up a foundation. In the meantime, this institution, with all its offices, departments, subdepartments, and divisions has branched out considerably. Having reached its purpose now it will be incorporated into The Storage for Distorted Matter. A warehouse in which all of the artist’s traces, his art and all possible links to the artist and his world are stored, registered, and archived. Painting, however, remains the most important element in his work. What no longer is, is longed for. A never ending story.

Part of this storage, together with earlier paintings, is shown in the gallery, in connection with works by Charl van Ark.

Without being abstract, with a personal narrative that originates from the world of the personal body, the studio, contacts, and travel experiences, Charl van Ark fascinates us through a body of work that is both enigmatic and specific. Every single work forms a whole image, yet somehow also expresses the desire to continuously renew the art of painting. Van Ark is a painter who frequently utilises found images, photographs, and clippings, whose details he brings out or works over with paint. He is, however, also a painter who lets the light do its work. The effect of the prolonged exposure to the sun becomes visible on the fabric base. Mirrors and object-like paintings often transform the compositions into sculptural spaces. There is an air of roughness to Charl van Ark’s work. At the same time, it is also characterised by softness, simplicity, and minimalism. It is created from a position of vulnerability. The work becomes personal, intimate, through the consistent incorporation of personal memories, experiences, and encounters, among others. It is the key to his art; the work becomes both hermetic and open to all.

The traces, the archive, the memories become specifically personal, transforming the works by Grootjans and van Ark into signifiers of the universal signifiers.

Exhibition “Leaving Traces” with 3 mayor installations from Loek Grootjans in SMAK 30/01 – 16/05/2010