Solid Air | 靜物虛空
21 Nov 2019 - 18 Jan 2020
What does stillness look like? Can an object be captured in a moment of pause? The work of Belgian artist Johan De Wit beckon these questions – to find solace in the instant between action and inaction.
De Wit’s simple shapes, everyday objects reveal a fascination with the ordinary. The inflated, deflated or crumpled works attempt to capture a state of suspended slumber. The sculptures fill the exhibition space with an unpretentious detachment, appearing to be nonchalantly placed, delicately stacked, folded and imprinted to tell stories of melancholy, familiarity and domesticity.
De Wit’s work embodies material contradictions through the deliberately deceiving visual cues. Viewers must defy the urge to poke, mould, squeeze and scrunch the seemingly soft works. The understated simplicity takes roots from the refined craftsmanship and restlessness of the Flemish and Dutch masters of the Golden Age. Similarly, there are clear echoes of the work of Giorgio Morandi whose still life paintings hold materiality, texture and colour as the primary foci.
Paper forms the basis of the sculptures. A mix of resin, marble powder and sometimes iron powder are added for structural strength. During the drying process, the shapes are remodeled by hand to carefully create folds and dents that give each piece its unique form. Once hardened, the surface is painted, sanded and polished at length to reflect the day’s shifting light, thereby revealing each bulge, indentation and wrinkle in an illusion of almost incomprehensible softness.
Born in 1960, Johan De Wit lives and works in Ghent, Belgium. He has been particularly productive in the last five years, exhibiting internationally in Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Sates among others.
靜止的型態是什麼? 我們又能否把固體理解成充滿著潛能，只是時間被靜止於一刻? De Wit 以簡樸的形式，透過雕塑深入探討這些讓人百思不得其解的問題。他嘗試尋找動態與靜態之間的緩衝點；用簡單的形狀和日常用品，通過不加修飾的分隔填補兩者之間的空間，以低調卻不純粹的物件型態融入環境。當它們聚集一起，便形成一個個時間膠囊，呈現出如藝術歷史學家 Max Kozloff 所道：「昏闕數小時」的效果。
樸素的風格源自於以精湛工藝和刻苦耐勞聞名的比利時荷蘭的黃金時代。De Wit 的作品中亦可見莫藍迪的影子，他們的作品都充斥着靜物畫中相若的沉穩、收斂、高雅又莊重的美學形式及色系。
De Wit 創造出動與靜之間的平衡點，與此同時，或多或少捕捉了作品那能夠改變物理特徵的能力。物料意外的肅靜，稍微的膨脹甚至垂墜，都在探討物體將會如何、或已經如何隨時間而改變。倘若微風輕輕吹拂著作品，雕塑的外型會因此而有所改變嗎？我們又會否聽見雕塑與風合奏的交響樂？我們將要抑壓一切想要觸摸這些看似舒服柔軟的作品的慾望，或許等待，會為你帶來最佳的答案。
作品的原材料是紙本，加上樹脂、大理石粉、甚至鐵粉，就可將柔弱的紙化為堅挺的雕塑。在它們乾透前，De Wit 以人手小心翼翼的造出每一個凹和凸，令每一個作品都變得獨一無二。乾透後便開始繁複的工序，作品表面需要上色及長時間的打磨和拋光，才可在日光移動時盡顯作品上每一個型態、褶皺及不可思議的柔和。
Johan De Wit 出生於1960年, 現於比利時根特居住和工作。他於過去五年間非常活躍，作品分別在瑞士、丹麥、意大利、荷蘭、比利時和美國的國際展覽中展出。