When you accept to paint you accept to be alone... Bearing his soul on canvas – Duizer
Duizer is a Danish painter from the small city of Horsens, currently residing in Paris. The crystal waters of life's stream began taking Duizer on an exploration of painting at a young age and the streams are now leading him to oceans. Casper has traveled all over, but it was in Paris that he found his first real identity as a painter. He found a certain freedom in his work during his time spent painting with an Italian painter Emmanuel Balthazar, he came to the conclusion that ,whilst painting, the target is always anonymous, one must simply explore.
In January of 2014, Duizer had his first exhibition in Paris at Petit du Bonheur Gallery in Montmartre. The exhibition was entitled 'Food for the Soul', using oil colors he painted using entirely waste materials,like cardboard sheets found on the street. 'Art recycling' was also used in his second exhibition, 'The Circle Ends' at Gallerie Lekker in Paris later in 2014. Both exhibitions were a success and attracted the attention of galleries overseas.
In the summer of that same year Duizer was invited to exhibit his work at the prestigious HOWL festival in NYC, organised by the mayor of New York to celebrate the works of poet Allen Ginsberg. He had just four days to prepare his exhibition and so began painting publicly with an installation granted to him at Tompkins Square Park. Duizer describes this experience as being one of complete exposure, bearing his soul to a crowd of curious onlookers with every stroke of his brush. He describes NYC as being a place of great competition, a place to prove your work worthy and consequently a place of great energy and motivation. He painted a little boy holding a gun, the American flag flying proudly behind him, which he entitled 'In God we Trust.' This was a reflection on American society, the stark contrast between the great faith in God and the reliance on arms.
Duizer hitchhiked from NYC through Canada, he describes it as the best and most authentic way to travel. He found inspiration for his work in the stories told to him by the local people that took him from place to place. He eventually stopped to live in a cabin in the woods in Yukon, Alaska. It reminded him of the stories told by Thoreau or Kerouac but feels that they omitted the extent of the loneliness such a solitary experience exposes the human to. He spent three months just 'painting for the birds.' His return to civilization (London) was a shock to the system, seeing more people in one second than he had seen in three months. However, Duizer believes that, contrary to the instant gratification provided by the big city, the forest offers truth.
Duizer offers us a comparison between the artist and the scientist, both are searching for truth. Art tries to enlighten just like science, both try to understand life. For Duizer however, life is in fact meaningless, art can be an attempt to give meaning to life. He explains that these attempts are never ending, capturing the truth or even a hint of truth is most difficult. He says only one out of twenty of his paintings really speaks to him. He explains that it takes time to become free and confident with your creation. However when he looks back at old work he finds proof of how far he has come.
Duizer's next venture is poetry. He has begun writing and exploring the art of making language mean something, as language is often poor. He also has a partnership with the Danish Bank Art Association who organize his painting exhibitions at home in Denmark.
Here at LBC we were highly impressed by Duizer's talent for painting, we can only imagine what wonders his poetry will bring to light.
EJ
Discover his paintings here .....
http://www.duizer.org/