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