Artist Statement(Google Translate)Although as an artist Jasper Kuijer cannot predict exactly what will happen with the first marks he makes on the canvas or etching plate, his theme is decided beforehand: mankind and his powerlessness. Not only people but also animals occasionally appear in his work. A bear cub may appear vulnerable yet bravely, walking across a landscape. In both his paintings and his prints his figures often appear in a forrest. It is unmistakably the world that Jasper Kuyer sees himself in: "It is there where it is about seeking, loosing your way, always searching without knowing for what, never finding an answer but always a question...." The final, most important similarity between his painting and print-making is in the working of the image. Again and again there is always something that can be added or taken away, a search for that one perfect image. His fascination for using graphic techniques lies in the working of the material itself: A perspex or zinc plate. The final image is determined by "a series of treatments that can be controlled only by experience, but never fully, so that each time you print the plate there is a curiosity and excitement and the image is always different". For example, an image of the defenceless bear cub on his way to a new adventure in the light and darkness of the forrest. (Google Translate) |