Known for his sophisticated, conceptual take on monochrome abstract painting, Flemish artist Pieter Vermeersch opens his first solo show in Hong Kong on July 3 at Galerie Perrotin.Born in 1973, Vermeersch takes a rigorous, analytical approach to creating “gradient fades” using a restricted palette of hues applied onto both canvases and murals, attempting to conjure what he calls a pictorial “degree zero” that strives to escape the tricky dichotomy of abstraction versus figuration.Since 1999, the artist has used both positive and negative photographic prints as a source material, mapping them using color mapping and grids to depict concrete, figurative subjects that end up defying recognition. In a Vermeersch painting, only the source colors remain as referents with a tangible link to the real world, allowing the paint to maintain a minimum degree of representational content while eschewing figuration as such.On the eve of this Hong Kong presentation, Vermeersch kindly shared his thoughts on his recent practice with BLOUIN ARTINFO.Your wall paintings seem to blend more readily with the architecture of the space they’re displayed in, whereas your canvas paintings might be said to test the boundaries between pure abstraction and the (faintly perceptible) figuration of the real-life subjects they’re based on. Are you more concerned about the viewer being able to identify or parse the image being represented, or the pure optical experience that is being offered?My interest in wall paintings is to use them as pictorial instruments that influence a given architectural space. The gradients create a sort of ephemeral physicality that counters the material physicality of the architecture itself. They also create a kind of illusionary space, and by creating this experience they question the limitations of a space, just like a canvas does.The paintings are based on photographic sources, and it is important that they come from our reality, even though they may look undefined, because I'm not a complete abstract painter. The aspect of time is something that concerns me a lot, and photography is a related tool in that specific domain. My concern is to create images that are a kind of zero degree of representation, bringing us to a level of time and space where we can sense the echo of the unknown we all know.How has the advent of digital and screen-based technologies affected — if at all — the way in which you represent the passage of time through your “gradient fade” static paintings?Actually, not at all: these gradients are more based on the experience of developing an image, as we have in the lab with analogue photography. Alternatively, you can see the wall paintings as a sort of Polaroid, where every moment of its development is painted out next to each other on a wall. But instead of some narrative, it's the development of the image that becomes something abstract, like color.Do you see your labor-intensive hand painting process as providing something essential to the experience of the viewer, or to your own practice as a painter?I see it as the only way it can be done. It's an essential bridge of representation. In terms of time, the labor itself is not important as such. It doesn't matter if a work of art is done in one minute, or one year.In a recent interview with Modern Painters, you said that a possible future project would involve experimental musician Stephen O’Malley of drone metal band Sunn O))) play in front of your paintings. Are you synesthetic? Do you hear music in terms of chromatic tones and textures?I'm not synesthetic, but it's a fascinating domain. And there are probably more synesthetic people than we would think. Somehow, I connect the way that I deal with the image with the way that Stephen O'Malley uses sound. That's why I'm interested. How would you describe the contemporary art scene in Brussels?It's an interesting, growing scene. Since WIELS, the contemporary art institute, opened its doors about 5 years ago, it has given Brussels a boost. More and more foreign galleries and artists have taken up a presence in the city, and a lot of new artist-run spaces, small institutions, and private initiatives have popped up. It has a lot of potential.The other good thing about Brussels is that there is no sense of a rat race between artists. There is no deadly competition, and this gives us a lot of mental space to work in. One of the places that embodies this is the artist-run space établissement d'en face, a small institution that plays a leading role in the city’s art scene.Pieter Vermeersch’s exhibition at Galerie Perrotin Hong Kong runs July 3 through August 15, 2015.Follow @ARTINFOHongKong
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