Matthieu Claus

Artist Statement

"As a painter, I am not seeking to capture an unambiguous, static image. My work emerges from an organic process of reappropriation, correction, and shifting, in which traces of material and remnants form the basis. I view the canvas as an active space in which time, action, and layering remain visible.

In my recent paintings, I consciously seek out the tension between control and resistance. By layering, breaking open, or partially removing layers, the material forces me to make new decisions. What seemingly disappears remains, as an underlying structure, decisive for the composition. Elements such as geometric patterns, stamps, or spheres enter into a dialogue with the texture of the oil paint. The result is a visual language in which transience is not an endpoint, but the driving, active force. I invite the viewer to become a participant in this layering; after all, the meaning of the work is not fixed, but emerges in the act of looking itself."