For L’outsider the intention to deal with the letter is central. Same as the letter and its deformation as well as abstraction is inherent in the graffiti culture. The artist has always been fascinated by graffiti’s situations of illegality, which generate an intriguing tension between risk-taking and the realization of an artwork and moreover, between urgency, suddenness and mastery of gesture. So sometimes writers risks their lives without any guarantee of a result, the illegal and “vandal” dimensions of the practice strongly conditions the processes, which finally results in certain aesthetics. L’outsider experienced extreme and hostile situations, because of his artistic background, that led him to grasp the essence, to accept the errors and taste the unexpected. Finally, the accident can become an opportunity, which may result in an artistic masterpiece.
„ Legible and illegible, visible and invisible function as the great poles between which my research continues each day.“
L’Outsider, 2020.
The color choices of his current series are directly inspired by graffiti. Beige represents restoration paint, whose neutrality is particularly interesting to the artist. In fact, he realized that the neutral colors, beiges, off-whites and light grays are associated in “our” (western) latitudes with cleanness, save environment and high living standard, which additionally acts as societal and cultural marker. The seemingly neutral non-colours are also used by cleaning institutions to paint over graffiti or tags. Chrome is an obvious borrowing from graffiti. Its ability to cover all types of surfaces as well as its silvery, light-reflecting shade gives every graffiti an incomparable visual effectiveness. Therefore the chrome and black color combination has imposed itself as a must. The white backgrounds in L’outsiders art works emphasize the architectural balance between his forms and shapes.
Readable versus unreadable, visible versus invisible, function as the great poles of L’outsider’s artistic research. By taking away the readability of the letters, the artist tries to synthesize the dynamics and force without juxtaposing them directly. L’outsiders artistic approach focuses on the aesthetics of letters and therefore he pursues their formal and pictorial qualities, which he states as Abstraction Typographique 2.
Tania di Brita
Artworks
Av. de Beauregard 1
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland
Only on appointment
T +41 79 301 11 37