Freitag, 04.03.2016, ab 17 Uhr
Soon Gallery, Limmatstrasse 206, Zürich
Above gehört zu den Urgesteinen wenn es darum geht, Spuren im öffentlichen Raum zu hinterlassen. Weltweit sind seine nach oben gerichteten Pfeile in unterschiedlichsten Versionen zu finden, die einem suggerieren, stets nach höherem zu streben. Nun macht der Weltenbummler für seine Soloshow «12 Month» in Zürich halt und er hat gleich Geschenke mitgebracht: Die ersten 25 Besucherinnen und Besucher erhalten exklusiv einen signierten Print!
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14K hatte die Gelegenheit, Above vor der Ausstellung ein paar Fragen zu stellen:
Hi Above. How are you?
Hello, I’m great. Finally able to relax for a moment before it gets crazy again.
When was your first visit to Zurich and what do you remember of the city?
My first time to Zürich was in 2005. During that year I was taking the Eurail for nearly 5 months all around Europe. Zürich was my last stop before getting back home to Barcelona. Honestly I remember the most Zürich being very expensive. Perhaps it was also because I was finishing my tour and my money was low, but I remember being in shock at how much things cost. A few weeks earlier I was in Croatia and Slovenia where everything was so affordable. All the costs aside, I thought Zürich was also very clean and orderly.
Since you’ve been here the first time, graffiti and especially street art has emerged a lot – it has become a worldwide phenomenon. For someone like you, being part of it for decades, what do you think of the evolution?
I think the evolution has been great in a sense that more artists are able to be supported by galleries, mural festivals, and a range creative projects. There is a lot of attention on what we’re doing now, which breeds a lot of opportunity both inside and outside. I feel that the more people are inspired by other artists the better. What I find attractive to what you call ’street art› is that there are no limits to how you can express yourself. There is an abundance of mediums, and styles to create within the structure of the city.
You are a globetrotter. Is there a city, country or region you can’t get enough of?
Yeah, the world as a whole! This planet is so diverse and full of different flavors. I like experiencing them all. Since I moved to Paris when I was 19, I’ve always loved Paris. I have a special relationship with that city, and I always will. Regionally speaking, Europe is hands down my favorite in the world. Where else do you have so many different languages, cultures, climates, and styles all merging together?
Who or what inspired/inspires you?
This might sound corny but some of the most basic things in life inspire me. Things like people watching, walking around a city, exploring a new areas I’ve never been before. I’ve always found that I’m inspired by things that are unpredictable, and unknown. Another thing that inspires me is hearing about peoples lives and what got them to where they are now. Stories of struggle, happiness, challenges, and luck.
Did you like drawing and crafting as a kid and what was the first piece of art you remember you created?
As a kid and even now as an adult I don’t enjoy «drawing» so much. What I like is working more with my hands. Building and constructing things out of shapes. I’ve never found myself drawn to drawing (No pun intended) I’ve enjoyed photography and compositions of how things look. The first piece of art I was proud about was a photograph I took when I was 12 years old. It was of these palm tree leaves that were crossing over each other. The form, and shapes I thought looked good, so I framed my photo.
What will you be doing when you’re 80 years old?
#1 Hopefully I’m alive and healthy.
#2. I’ll have evolved into styles of paintings that will look absolutely nothing like the paintings I am today at age 35!
Der Ausstellungstitel lautet «12 Month», und das nicht ohne Grund, wie Above erklärt:
12-Months completes a year cycle. I’ve experienced 34-complete cycles thus far in my life. Over the years I’ve become very familiar with the range of different feelings, and impacts each month has on me.
My intention with my recent body of work is to show the viewer a visual portrayal of associations, and experiences I’ve had with each Month. This body of work explores new ways of incorporating my arrow icon into a variety of patterns, configurations, and abstract styles, while using the entire color spectrum as my palette.
My process started with reflecting back on each year, making detailed lists of colors, feelings, and associations I have with each month. I would use my written notes and transform these words into the visual designs of shape and color, you see in each painting.
I aimed to create each work with a unique feeling, while still having a consistency within the body of work. I intended to have my arrow icon act as the supporting role in every month’s composition. My goal is to have the arrow interact, transform, and re-create its shape as much as possible, helping illustrate the emotion and feeling of each month. During my creative process the consistent changing of colors, and emotions of each month both inspired, and challenged me.