We got to know Arthur through curator Ephameron of the Grafixx festival in Antwerp. We talked to her about the young artist who had already caught her eye while studying illustration at the Luca School of Arts in Ghent.
-How did Arthur come onto your radar?
Arthur submitted his portfolio to me at the beginning of his master year, and I was already impressed then by the rich visual world he had set up in his undergraduate years. I also got to walk with both his juries, so in that sense, I did get to see the great strides he made under the intensive content supervision in the master year.
-What do you think he has to offer?
I see Arthur as a hugely motivated artist, who creates from an urge to create, a passion for drawing. He is like a sponge: he draws inspiration from his surroundings, references, makers, stories, faits-divers and then processes them into a very own, swirling universe that, as an outsider, you just can't stop thinking about.
-What can an opportunity like Off the Wall do for him in his journey?
I hope that this mural can provide an opportunity for him to think and work big, take him away from the sheet on his desk. And then towards the future to keep thinking big as well, who knows maybe start working on canvas?
-And how do you see that, Arthur?
This assignment let me push my boundaries. I only made relatively small pencil drawings. So this is of a completely different scale. I was always curious to see how my drawings would take shape when working larger.
I also think using paint could be refreshing for me, away from colour pencils for a while. I will have to solve things in a different way than I do on a sheet of paper anyway.
During the twelfth edition of Grafixx, an international selection of graphic artists will take you in search of the traditions of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
21-22-23-24 November in De Studio