November - December 2022

ARTIST STATEMENT

(b 2000 Cape Town, South Africa)

‘I always have a sketchbook with me.’

‘Painting cannot be forced. It is as if the moment of recognition of the right scene to paint streams towards me. At that moment I feel a harmony between my inner world and the outer world.’

Michael Beckurts engages with the subjects of his paintings by physically returning to the site repeatedly. There he intentionally observes or paints. This is how he attempts to understand the scene and form a connection to it. The scene becomes the sitter and his painting becomes a portrait. In Beckurts‘ current body of works he paints portraits of nature and nature in the urban environment. His focus is on the textures, colours and structures in nature. 

Michael is a mark maker. His mark making is characterised by fine brushwork that produces a sense of movement and lightness. Depth is created by mark making rather than through tonality.

This collection of artworks displays Michael’s technical command of different media and styles: watercolour and digital, some of which have been adapted into hand pulled screen prints by master printmaker Wim Legrand of Black River Studio.