Here is a set of preview images from Thierry Furger as he prepares for his latest solo exhibition “Here to Stay”. Furthering the artists experimentation into his Buffed paintings series Here to stay goes further into new directions as the artist utilizes quotes from painted trains paying tribute to sayings written on these illegal interventions. In the artists words “the idea behind my ‘tribute serie’ is, to give those quotes (and pieces) something like a second life. all the quotes were just visible for the public for some hours or maybe for a few days before they got buffed by the transit authority.”. An interesting concept that develops further the conceptual nature of his work, establishing a direct confrontation of the transient nature of graffiti and its aesthetics. Make sure to check out the show at Kolly Gallery in Zurich.
GF
Thierry Furger
here to stay
2015 Mar 5 Apr 6
6 – 8 pm
Thierry Furger (b. 1975 in Switzerland) discovered the world of graffiti during the 80s and since then, he has never stopped exploring it. Today, he lives and works as an artist and graphic designer in Zurich.
For over twenty years, Furger has followed and documented the subculture of writers and their works. It was in 2007 when he presented his works for the first time in an exhibition. From then and there stemmed the topic of “Buffed Paintings”, which he has continuously developed ever since. Still today, he investigates the wider characteristics of the graffiti universe: these include, in particular, its transience and the aesthetics of the cleaning and removal of illegal tags and graffiti pieces, but also strategies, techniques and situations of illegal writings.
Graffiti does not only mean many years of experience in handling letters and spray in order to develop a unique style, but also to realize something that will persist even under adverse circumstances, through time and lighting conditions. A special fascination lies in the breathlessness of its formation and it is reinforced by the transience of the images. Due to the authorities and the large part of the society striving for order, the art work doen not last for long. Furthermore, it is also exposed to weather conditions as well as competing sprayers – Graffiti is much ephemeral.
Graffiti in public space merges with its underlying surface, as the connection of colors with the materials that are used as canvas, belong to this specific aesthetic. The art of Thierry Furger is based on these two aspects and he tries to capture the development, transience and materiality. For the “Buffed Paintings» series, graffiti or tags are first sprayed onto different surfaces, which the artist afterwards cleans then with so-called “graffiti-killer”. Aerosol or ink, train doors or poster frames – depending on substrate and application of paint different compositions of colored clouds and smears arise from drips and curves that appear under the heterogeneous surface.
In doing so, the artist does not create works that emphasize calligraphy or the technically savvy lines, but rather stages the fascination and aesthetics of speed and transience of the work itself.
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