Racer Malevich
For this project, I start from the oeuvre of Kazimir Malevich (1878–1935), an artist I greatly admire for his bold and continually evolving body of work. In his practice, I recognize an affinity with an element that also frequently appears in my own work: the gradient.
In paintings such as The Rye Harvest (c. 1912), Malevich uses colour transitions as a form of transformation. I previously explored this principle in Variations in Difference (2017), though at that time it remained confined to the painterly domain.
Racer Malevich gradually developed into a project containing numerous nods to Malevich’s visual language.
Transformations
2025 – Migration of Base Paintings
The first three airbrush paintings that formed the basis of this project were removed from their frames and sewn onto the canvas MT.4.7. Resurrection of Ukraine.
2022 – Studio Setup
In a test installation in my studio, I presented the works in a cross-shaped configuration, once again a subtle reference to Malevich. Along the vertical axis, the 3D reliefs are shown alongside their colour prints. On the horizontal axis, two black squares are visible, illuminated by changing LED light.
Behind the black squares, the initial setup includes a black panel, which can be replaced by one of the reliefs from the vertical axis.
Each light composition slowly transitions into the next. The light slips beneath the black surface, tracing its contours and colouring the wall. An additional light projection in the form of a cross was added to further emphasize the cross shape.
2022 – Conversion to 3D Printing and the Addition of LED Light
Even so, the series still felt too close to my earlier paintings. This led me to adopt a different approach: no longer painting the gradient, but allowing it to emerge through RGB LED light. I developed several compositions in 2D and translated them into reliefs, which I then 3D-printed.
The development of the LED program and the technical components was made possible through the support of teachers and students at PROVIL in Lommel.
Each presentation shows a photograph of the 2D design and the printed relief, together with two variations of that relief placed behind a black square with illumination.
Racer Malevich as a Bather
Racer Malevich Diving
Racer Malevich in Front of a Tractor
Racer Malevich in Transition
Racer Malevich Playing the Violin for a Cow
Racer Malevich with an Axe
Racer Malevich without a motorbike
Racer Malevich Frontal
2021 - Release the Acceleration
The first three paintings — constructed in 3D and subsequently airbrushed onto canvas — were titled Release the Acceleration. Much like Malevich linked his aversion to industrialization to a fascination with rural life, I depict a racer named Malevich who literally lets go of his racing machine and appears to fly away.
