Ghosts
Hardly any artist manages to stick to a single way of expression all his life and still be successful. Although he creates a little and with pauses, the artist known as KW has accomplished this model.
However, his painting does not represent a sophisticated discovery of a suitable concept. It is for its very spontaneity and “simplicity” that it arouses both suspicion and astonishment. Without a trace of routine.
Fifteen years ago, I have called his painting style a contract with the unconscious; the contract has not been dissolved yet. In his latest collection Ghosts, which combines painting, photography, video and objects, he captures the constant presence of ghosts in our lives. His paintings have always been inhabited by ghosts who are seen as a synonym of numerous essential timeless questions. KW shows the spectators the way to see them, as observation is his strongest point. If the artist can see really well, he will most probably also be able to mediate his observations. To the artist, observation is a reconstruction of a real experience, making ghosts unseen by others visible. They can be seen in the open door of a spaceship, in an empty glass in front of a greyhound, in a sculptural group of satellites as well as in a dancing phantom. Naturally materializing in the artist’s easy painting style, the images of the ghosts are credible as they have always been part of his paintings.
In his photographs, the artist follows another kind of ghosts. They are not so ephemeral and do not stand for anything. They are darker ghosts, made out of anxiety and chance. They only appear for a few seconds. KW is registering them in an archive to be able to manipulate them a little.
Although it is a known fact that art means nothing but itself, KW is an artist who keeps challenging this thesis.
Lenka Lindaurová
- Two years ago in Zlín00:00:26.540
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- I painted directly on the wall00:00:29.585
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- an open door with furniture.00:00:32.200
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- Since then I have been obsessed00:00:35.526
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- by the idea of painting a memory or a projection -00:00:39.163
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- I would like to paint somebody00:00:42.329
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- who is not in the space, but I would like to see the person there.00:00:44.993
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- It may be the first thing00:00:49.158
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- that a year and a half ago00:00:51.699
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- started to develop and then00:00:54.615
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- I saw a small, black and white photo of an Afghan Setter.00:00:58.299
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- For me, this dog was a strange creature,00:01:01.922
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- difficult to read, not really dog-like.00:01:04.007
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- Then a flower.00:01:07.535
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- It bloomed at our home a year ago.00:01:09.244
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- It fascinated me.00:01:11.561
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- The artworks were continually gathered00:01:14.494
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- and finally, they created a nice complex.00:01:17.869
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- I thought it´d be good to present a theme that is not a theme at all.00:01:22.121
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- Of course, I was afraid of making a bestiary.00:01:25.438
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- Only the flowers could remind a kind of bestiary.00:01:29.126
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- I try the unit to have a poetic clue.00:01:34.349
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- There are pictures I took in a year and a half.00:01:50.904
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- I just selected thirty pictures.00:01:58.841
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- Quite simply. I chose the pictures that were evident, at least for me.00:02:06.622
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- Of course, it is quite subjective. Most artworks are readable.00:02:14.208
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- Not only through my point of view.00:02:19.487
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- I wanted to have here many things00:02:41.293
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- in order to violate one formula saying what the exhibition is about.00:02:43.989
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- With respect to the photos I was successful because00:02:52.271
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- there are many themes and all of them could be used,00:02:57.326
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- that´s why it is important to me.00:03:01.482
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- I think I didn´t express the nature of this exhibition00:03:04.143
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- because I think the substance is ephemeric.00:03:07.262
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- At the same time, I like things that are almost00:03:14.443
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- impossible to be realized;00:03:17.249
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- like it was in the 90´s with painting.00:03:20.124
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- I like marginal things. I know they are difficult to be created.00:03:22.780
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- The theme was difficult and dangerous00:03:30.107
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- from the perspective of perception or reading.00:03:37.286
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- It was one of the reasons why I tried it.00:03:44.473