Guus Koenraads (NL, 1949)

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The aesthetics of absence

 

If there is one thing that Guus Koenraads' pigment inkjet prints make clear, it is that they can generate maximum expressiveness through minimal visual means. The subtle articulation and delicate pastels of the prints delight the eye, but arouse the curiosity at the same time: what do they show? The working of light and shadow moulds shapes and spaces; sometimes only revealing a detail, a mere hint of a space inside or out of doors. The work is called 'Domain', but it is far from clear what sort of domain we roam around in. The three-dimensional space has been translated into a two-dimensional play with multiple shades of white. The images show what I would like to call the aesthetics of absence. The photographs are signs, suggesting the contiguity of time and space. They refer to what we don't see, but know to be there. It makes them highly evocative, conjuring up entire worlds.

The photo work 'Domain', which in its totality can be considered a spatial installation, further develops basic characteristics of Guus Koenraads' work: lucidity, straightforward shapes, the use of subdued colours; spatial effect and depth through a subtle play with shapes and his use of colouring; suggesting but not demonstrating presence. The eye keeps wandering, halting where it's only just caught by something evoked in the viewer: a memory, an emotion, an association. Through this the work draws the onlooker into a domain of his own (…) Kitty Zijlmans (2003)

 

 

Guus Koenraads studied at Jan van Eyck Academy, Maastricht. He was teacher at SintLucas in Eindhoven (NL).

 

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