Jan Kuhlemeier, ArtEZ

22 mei 2015

Surfaces and textures existing in everyday life have always fascinated me. What I have been doing these past years refer at some point to the one thing I always loved to do as a kid, and still love to do: skateboarding.

Textures that we find in the architecture of the everyday urban life have always been inspiring to me. Every road, each sidewalk, every tile, each kind of concrete and each kind of asphalt are all different in their texture and they all generate their own rhythm. Constantly I am inspecting the rideablilty of these surfaces, like a mountaineer inspects every rock he has to climb to reach from point A to B. The proper surface combined with the right architectural objects creates a playground in which skateboarders create their own choreography in using these objects in specific orders.
Referring to skateboarding is for me in some way referring to surfing as well. The form of a natural shaped wave is at the bedrock of my fascination. Because of my relation to surfaces I see the world from a different perspective. As an artist I position myself and my work between being a painter in the second dimension, and creating sculptures in the third dimension, sometimes resulting in installations.