Walter Swennen: Ne Quid Nimis
Hans Theys
Zonder Titel, 2016
€35,00
A painting by Walter Swennen always comes as a surprise. It might contain an intriguing combination of words or an isolated letter of the alphabet, a fractured message or a semi-recognisable phrase. Perhaps it will be figurative, abstract, or something in-between. Then there are the textures: opaque or transparent, rough or smooth, glossy or matte. Not to mention the techniques: brush, palette knife, sgraffito and impasto, and endless fluctuations and combinations thereof, not to mention a wealth of less orthodox methods. Finally, and last but not least, there are the colours: vivid, evocative and always beautiful. Look carefully at a work by Walter Swennen and you will discern — either instantaneously or over time — some or all of these qualities. These material aspects of the work reveal the many and varied layers of its construction. In short, they disclose ‘how’ the painting was made.
Walter Swennen was born in 1946 in Brussels. Recent solo exhibitions include: Ein perfektes Alibi, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Germany (2015); Continuer, Culturgest, Lisbon, Portugal (2013); So Far So Good, WIELS, Brussels, Belgium (2013) and Garibaldi Slept Here, Kunstverein Freiburg, Germany (2011).
ISBN: 9789090298986
