Vivacity

by Michael Beckurts

Mezzanine - 07.03.24 - 18.04.24

Central to my practice is the genuine feeling of human connection. I paint scenes not because of their beauty but rather because I have interacted with them in a meaningful way. For me, place is a condenser of memory and associations. My process starts with being in an environment physically and filtering sensory information. It’s the fragrance of the fynbos, and navigating the middelmannetjie on the farm road. It’s the thrumming of music and voices in the night air. It’s the dry heat and the dappled shade. By returning repeatedly to the scene, an emotional connection is formed and the memory entrenched. This is the source I draw from when making a painting.

Working in oil paints engages my whole body. It is a process of leaning, mixing, stretching, and arcing left and right. This physicality heightens my sense of awareness and stimulates the recollection of unexpected details.

Art helps me to understand how I move in the world. How I blend in. How I make myself heard and seen. I paint to record, recall, and relive experiences and places to which I have a connection. These are spaces that give me a sense of freedom.

CATALOGUE

Vivacity

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