Rutger De Vries

The expansive painting installations of Rutger de Vries diverge in both geometric visual language and more organic, fanning painterly surfaces that draw upon the dynamics of seemingly contradictory actions of expression and concealment. At first glance, his work echoes the expressive character of a restless painter, but visible traces occupy the installation’s scene: the stray tools characterize the maker’s own absence. De Vries extends the experimental gestures and systemic logic derived from the traditions of process painting and conceptual art into self-developed tools, merging industrial mechanics and computer-controlled machines with techniques such as aerosol spray paint, paint bombs, and corrosive etching chemicals. By blurring the value of his identity, De Vries investigates the scope of his own authorship, while reflecting the visual means of anti-establishment movements. Consequently, by operating in the context of the visual arts, a new antagonist appears at the intersection of private and public space.