67 dissections and reconstructions

 The restless creative mind of Johan Daenen (°1958) observes, analyses,dissects and reconstructs. Relentlessly. Everchanging. These paintings areresults of his observations of objects, photographs, natural phenomena and evenold master paintings (Manet, Velasquez) or old master iconography (pieta). Theyare shaken (not stirred!) and re-appear as unexpected abstractions of oursurrounding material world. Through this process the anecdotic narrative willdisappear and make place for more abstract and new layers of meaning. Awrinkled piece of trivial paper lace (used by bakers as a support for pastriesand cake) suddenly transforms into a microscopic image of some geological mineralstructure. There is no real duality with figurative art, both often co-exist inhis work: a detail (abstract) of an elephant trunk suggests the whole animalwithout having to paint it explicitely. The ‘pars’ has become the ‘toto’.

When vertical fence poles are scattered horizontally, they become lineardemarcations of pictural surfaces and volumes. Again, the abstract and thefigurative co-exist peacefully and unexpectedly.

Colour is primordial and carefully chosen to add depth to the emotion.Either warm and whispering or loud and luminescent.

 The threedimensional objects are inspired by the subversive humoristictradition of surrealism. After all, dogs should be protected against thetraffic with rear view mirrors and should be able to keep their chewing bone inbalance with a level (exhibited by Verbeke Foundation, Belgium in 2022).

 For Johan ‘multi’ is never enough: it also has to be ‘poly’ and preferably ‘omni’.

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