Heck ... Let the white define itself

By : Ali Rashid

 

A friend of me who lives in Madrid once said to me: “Ali, you have to think about the commercial face of art. The white painting is very difficult to sell so you should besides your own educated research of white also try to produce work for the art-market.
After the economic crisis that hit Europe and indeed the whole world, many serious galleries had to close because of bankruptcy. While some galleries stayed after leaving their stringent look on art and so became more flexible towards sales. And so this brings back the artist who splitted his work into a commercial and educated part as what some galleries do . .

I remember a talk with my friend the dutch artist Peter Schenk. He always repeated that 10% of the people which have a developed relation to art will buy educated art. But there is also 90% of people who are able to buy art, will buy it not because of the cultural value, the multiplicity of its layers or the richness of its content, but because the artwork shall, with its colour, compliment the home decor. Therefore a new art-market has developed the coming of half talented artists who produce works caressed by the customers who desire only colours in art and so please the wish of customers. A big rupture developed between the market and the knowledge, visual culture and its transformations. And even some collectors did not overcome the taste of art from 100 years ago.

One day I try to follow the advice of my friend. I made abstract work with carefully studied colours. When the work finished I thought it was still educated enough but also saleable for people.
But a hole started to grow in my soul, and it became bigger and bigger. It started while working on the painting I started longing for the result. I was not used to this at all, to know on forehand what the work had to be. The next day I found myself intuitively going into my imagination and so did my hand which found its order above the canvas. The hand which belongs to me which sculpts in my life my time. I was like someone archiving the moment and this is the reason I decided to extend the heart of the blue in the work till it was disappeared. I closed the warmth of the red by hiding it and with one or more action I found myself placed in front of the holy white in my painting. The white opaque layers with traces of time. And in this moment I just shouted happy:Heck, Ali, let the white built itself .

 

 

Ila magazine editor

 works from artist Ali Rashid and a photo of artist Peter Schenk ( 1944 -2013 ) in his studio