BASE-ALPHA GALLERY

SOETKIN VERSLYPE — A FLOWER, A CHAIR

13.01.2022 – 26.02.2022

My paintings start from a love for the medium and the possibilities that come with it. I always knew that I wanted to be a painter and being an artist was what naturally came along with it. I'm not really trying to convey concepts or tell a story. I put my focus on the process of creating an image that’s not depending on a narrative. The attention lies on the visual aspect. I use color and play with the ways I can translate my 3 dimensional environment to a flat surface to create ambiguous situations that make everyday sceneries look atypical and strange.

The subject of my work/paintings could be a tapestry, a flower, a chair. These selected items are everyday objects or surroundings with no heavy loaded value, some subjects could be considered as domestic, or boring. It aren’t objects that scream for attention, but for me some of these objects trigger me to paint in a way due to their potential to be abstracted or reformed. I search for objects and surroundings that I can manipulate, reframe and distort. I am always Searching for potentially interesting compositions, color combinations and refractions within my direct surroundings.

Similar to a patchwork, I bring back all perspectives to one equal surface, where there is no clear fore- or background, this technique allows me to play with positive and negative forms creating interactions between shapes that in reality could be at a large distance from each other.

When growing up, you learn to recognize different shapes, distinguishing your surroundings, learning about depth and focus. While drawing and painting I try to rely on intuition and the freedom to play with what I see around me, flattening what isn’t flat and combining what should be separate by using color combinations that bring different materials together. The sky can now relate to a cup in a very different way, or a shoe to a flower.

My paintings are made with gouache. I like this medium in particular because it is water mixable, has a matte finish and it dries quickly. It doesn’t allow overpainting since it reactivates the paint when it comes in contact with water. This can be challenging but at the same time make it impossible to overthink the process. It creates the spontaneous atmosphere and texture I’m looking for and that’s what I truly enjoy about this technique.