Pieter Vermeersch’s exquisite colour gradient paintings oscillate between figuration and abstraction in their investigation of time, matter, and space. He uses digital images of sky, rainbows, or backdrops from Old Masters paintings to create a flowing surface that masks the artistic gesture. This method is exact and scientific.
Vermeersch’s paintings are liberated from its subjective foundations, allowing the spectator to completely appreciate the colours and grandeur of the piece. His exploration extends beyond the canvas. Large-scale spatial interventions are a recurring theme in his work, which constantly subverts the surroundings, whether constructed for an exhibition space or adapted to fit an existing architectural site. In addition to the immersive, painterly installations and gradient wall paintings, his collection of work includes a range of ephemeral zero degree paintings on canvas. His work is complemented by a variety of photographic prints or marble slabs that have been touched up with delicate paintbrush, or progressive colour planes.
The parameters of Vermeersch’s work, which uses representation and abstraction, cause microscopic perceptual experiences. It provides us with an understanding of colour that alludes to the interval between appearance and disappearance—the region where the distinctions between two and three dimensions, the intangible and tangible, time, and space are hazy.