Wait 2006

Editor: This drawing, "Wait" by Raoul De Keyser, was created in 2006 using pencil on paper. The muted palette creates a somewhat melancholic mood, don't you think? What strikes you most about its construction? Curator: Considering De Keyser’s practice as a whole, the "Wait" drawing offers insight into his deconstruction of painting. The raw materials, the graphite pencil and paper, are presented without embellishment. How does this "waiting" manifest in the act of creation, in the labor involved? Editor: Interesting thought! It seems simple, almost effortless. Curator: Precisely. But let's consider what appears effortless. The visible marks – the layered pencil strokes, the loosely defined geometric forms, and the delicate red border – are the result of deliberate actions, decisions regarding pressure, layering, and the very quality of the line. Can you discern evidence of erasures or revisions in the drawing’s surface? Editor: Yes, in a few places. So the ‘wait’ isn't just an aesthetic, it’s part of the work’s history? Curator: Exactly! And what about the implied narrative within these simple shapes? These abstract forms feel…unfinished. The artist encourages the viewer to pause, to consider not just what is present but also what is absent, what is deferred, or perhaps what is being consumed by the market of abstract forms? Editor: So by focusing on the bare materials and process, he comments on the market itself. I see a tension here: it is incomplete yet completely a statement. Curator: Precisely, a tension born from the materials themselves, and from the societal expectation for art to have meaning. The piece holds meaning while rejecting that notion. Editor: I'm glad to see art challenging and engaging its socioeconomic environment in a new way, rather than isolating. Thanks for this take!