Page 34 - Art at VIPERGEN Korr

Thaddeus Strode: Come to, 2007.
Mixed media on canvas, 624.8 x 716.3 cm..
Thaddeus Strode works with abstract and expressive painting. His works have strong ties to a formalist tradition, where the painting is first and foremost considered material, and where the painterly processes, such as brushstrokes and the application of layers, are visible and exposed to the viewer, who can now trace the artist’s hand and movements in the works. In each of Thaddeus Strode’s paintings there are plenty of different techniques. The paint runs in several places, figurations arise, spray paint is used, and, most importantly, he paints words in his works. The use of words sends references to the cartoon aesthetic and to the graffiti in street art and thus opens his works in a pop cultural universe, that does not shy away from the painterly unfolding of materials. Thaddeus Strode is known for investigating everyday themes and myths, and he continuously balances on the edge between well-known reality and fiction. Actual narratives rarely arise in his works. Rather, the paintings consist of its materials and visual qualities.
Thaddeus Strode (1964 US) lives and works in Los Angeles. He studied at the Otis/Parsons Art Institute and the California Institute of the Arts. He has, among other things, exhibited at Kunstverein Heilbronn, DE; Galerie Michael Janssen, DE; Galleria Gio Marconi, IT; Cirrus Gallery, US; The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum US; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, US; Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, US; ZKM, DE; Nils Stærk, DK, and HEART Herning Museum for Modern Art, DK.
34