Brian Calvin

Brian Calvin's non-narrative yet figurative paintings, drawings and sculptures are developed in the context of a diligent daily practice rooted in questions of shape and colour. “I’m trying to broaden my vocabulary while I explore the abstract potential of an image as it comes into being. That’s actually why there are so many repetitions in my work; I’m using extremely simplified visual motifs which then come to produce a strong impression in most cases.”

So that’s what we don’t see in Brian Calvin’s work at a first glance: the abstraction and effacement of his subject matter. One thing we can feel as we stand opposite his paintings is the rhythm and dynamics created by blocks of colour and outlined details. Brian Calvin seems to create a bridge over the space we might discern between sound and silence in music. His use of repetition causes time to stand still. And the faces stare out with an inquisitive gaze which will never be answered, but somehow that’s beside the question. - Marie Maertens