Vernissage on Sa. 7 September 2019 at 8 p.m. to Fr. 20 September 2019
Hiske Hilgegna, Sneaker Art, 2019
The Dutch painter Hiske Hilgenga has a special weakness for sneakers. For him, they have as much aesthetic as erotic appeal. So he has found a way in his art to translate his interest into a painting that does justice to the complex of this preference. Hyske Hilgenan’s works are characterized by a rough, impasto, almost unadorned painting style.
The two-dimensional, unpretentious pictures seem to leave it up to colour alone to construct the motif. They bear witness to a high degree of infatuation with the material, which in the process effortlessly and unheeded overcome the difficult boundaries between abstraction and pictoriality, material and effect.
Hyske Hilgenga’s striking sneakers have an aura that is as light as it is ironic. They do not add another plastic garbage to our crowded world of goods, for their debut nobody has to spend the night in front of a shop.
No, they reflect their quoted subject-object relationship quite simply and playfully in that of art. One can also read a subversive commentary on toxic high capitalism in this strategy.