Kunstenaar

Filip Gheysen

Filip Gheysen

9000 Gent

In the music of Filip Gheysen, the timbre produced by his instrument is a vital aspect in that the harmonic spectrums of the drones and the enhanced sounds he typically produces with his electric tabletop guitar are progressively shifting. Synonymous with timbre is the quasi-poetic phrase tone colour. In Gheysen’s visual art, consisting mostly of abstract prints and paintings, there is obviously a play with the tones of a colour, thus an inversion of the aforementioned musical term. For there is a pertinent in- and decrease of saturation and of temperature in the pictorial field comparable to what is going on in his music.However, the shift in tonality of the hues is often less gradual and can even be abrupt; in Gheysen’s art, colours regularly sink below the surface of their pure state or diffuse over it. What is more, over the years his use of colours has become more stripped-down and the tints even more subdued. Add to this the expressive qualities of certain techniques he masterly employs such as the monotype, by which blots, stencilled shapes and vague outlines come into the picture, and you have a finely crafted foundation for an affecting abstract image.Then there’s the line: in some works a straight version can be seen slicing through the support’s plane, dividing the whole. Stripes may also emerge symmetrically in twos while in other instances a vertical as well as a horizontal line intersect near one of the corners of the paper, cardboard or canvas. In such cases a second frame is laid out and a kind of new parergon is produced. Alternatively, dense curves sometimes seem to evoke a notational system or calligraphy. Other lines are widened so that they come to resemble gaping cuts and in quite a few pieces a ground layer was attacked with multiple scratches. As became evident, a plethora of synonyms of carving and cutting can being used to describe Gheysen’s line patterns; no wonder, since he is first and foremost a graphic artist using intaglio techniques such as etching to explore the possibilities of abstract line-work. Nevertheless, graphite, charcoal and oil paint do the trick for the artist as well. Frequently Gheysen arranges works of art in series which he clearly does on the basis of his work process and modus operandi. This implies that the formats of the separate pieces may differ and, more importantly, that all the series are non-sequential and lacking a narrative. Conversely, movement, flows of intensity and innate tension are characteristics that can surely be attributed to all of his individual works.Moreover, these are features which are obviously emphasised in the videos the artist has been creating since 2011. They show lines dance rather timidly, make turns or float along accompanied by passing spots and travelling smears in a scenery of inks and paint. The imagery, strongly reminiscent of his prints and paintings, is enlivened by humming guitar sounds. As an inspired symbiosis between his visual art and his music, the video clips constitute a logical step in Gheysen’s intriguing body of work that doesn’t cease to amaze.

Filip Gheysen
Filip Gheysen
Filip Gheysen