Frédéric Kappa, artiste plasticien & multimedia
The general approach_
The work of Frédéric Kappa
Frédéric Kappa’s work is quite vast both in terms of the different techniques he uses and from the point of view of the periods he has gone through during his 30 years of artistic career.
Initially he explored different trends, trying to find his own ontology through different currents, crossing, mixing different styles, at first glance antagonistic, such as abstract expressionism and the realism of pop art. . This led to his series “The Sky Is Not Necessarily Blue” — a very contemporary vision of the sky; which takes on a sort of materiality, where impressions of clouds on a photo basis in screen printing are mixed.
In other words, the graphic precision of screen printing (cloud prints that he describes as “abstract realism”) mixes with the intuition of the brush, in a global osmosis. Playing with the double meaning of the cloud, sometimes seeing it as an abstract form, or just seeing the cloud concretely. Raw expression of nature, blending with its own expression.
In another series, more urban this time, he works based on building parts. He plots the image, prints it on canvas as for the clouds, he intervenes with his brush, appealing more to the atmosphere of our cities than to an overall realism. That is to say that the subject is treated as if it were seen up close on the front, on distant images. Inspired by fences, possible graffiti, temporal deterioration, signage. We also see a reference to the industrial process of construction (or deconstruction) of our cities. And here again graphic precision coexists with freedom of brushwork.
From 2022, Kappa will travel frequently, sometimes for long periods of time. Having left his studio, he works on the photos he takes on his travels. He mixes his workshop with the world around him, the landscapes he crosses.
Borrowing a rather surrealist spirit, unexpected images emerge. Digital collage technique from photos taken of what surrounds it. A vision of our contemporary world through contemporary technique. An invitation to travel into this world, and into the artist’s inner trip. A reflection on what pictorial construction involves through its history and personal experience.
Roads heading towards the unknown. Searching for space for dreams, trying to give a little extra soul in our post-industrial society that his work represents well in its mechanism.
Jean Steens