LUCAS THORIK (b.1973)
Lucas Thorik is a Dutch abstract artist, living and working in The Hague. Thorik creates large-scale finely tuned canvases by layering subtle hues to form nuanced compositions that bridge the worlds of art, design, psychology and music.
Throughout his life Thorik sought authentic experiences, living and working amongst countercultures, whether that was immersing himself in the surf scene, booth building for design fairs or later DJing at the height of the Techno decade, these experiences have shaped Thorik’s ethos to work to live and are evident in the holistic and raw approach he takes with his art. Despite the overall serene quality of Thorik’s works, through his practice, he does not aim to present a perfect world, altered and contorted through social media. Instead he exhibits the unfiltered and real, its edges are rough and its meaning is left open to interpretation with closer analysis.
A-typically, Thorik actively avoids seeking external art historical inspiration, preferring to create untitled pieces that explore a pure and personal abstraction. Despite this insular process, the influences of music and design infiltrate his practice. The artist’s application of paint is a symphony formed of ecru, earthy tones, misty blues and greys, that mirror the sound frequencies of Techno and House Music. These gritty, urbanite plains are then imbued with luminescent spray-paint, building a euphoric climax to the canvases, resulting in compositions that echo the experimental and unexpected musical patterns explored throughout his career as a DJ. The energetic flecks of neon seen in Thorik’s canvases are reminiscent of the surprising glitches heard in live sets and originate from his teenage days spray-painting flashes of yellow, orange and pink onto T-Shirts for the 80s surf crowd. Thorik has carried through the same stencil technique used on this merchandise to his canvases, to create dynamic and layered pieces. The layering process involved in each piece reflects the evolving nature of life and its various incarnations.
Balance is pivotal to Thorik’s oeuvre, creating balance through texture with his coarse application of impasto white plaster superposed by a misting of spray paint, colour, from white to vibrant neons, and size, a vast canvas is contrasted by a small square. The artist’s pursuit for internal balance is marked in each piece. Today the artist works on his canvases directly onto the floor using multi-media across several canvases at one time to ensure there is equilibrium within his series.
Thorik maintains a universal approach to aesthetics and considers the impact of art on an entire space and upon its viewer. Already known as an emerging talent in contemporary Dutch art scene, Thorik’s work is now gaining pace within the international market.