A generator of interpretations…”
Paul Zimmerman in conversation with Iso Decleer
Paul Zimmerman: Your oil on canvas paintings are resolutely abstract. How did you develop interest in this discipline?
Iso Decleer: In the past I alternated between a semi realistic and abstract style, over the years I grew more interested in the abstract style because I have the feeling that it goes beneath the surface and gives more room for interpretation.
PZ: What is the most challenging aspect of your work?
ID: To create a work that is as consistent as possible even if that is impossible by definition.
PZ: What is your artistic process? How do you create your paintings?
ID: I use the surrealist automatism method.
PZ: Do you have any particular goal in mind when you start a new piece?
ID: To discover and surprise myself with new realities, forms and colour combinations.
PZ: How do you know when the painting is finished?
ID: When I have the feeling nothing has to be added or left out.
PZ: Have your practice changed over time?
ID: I spend more time on automated drawing.
PZ: Which artists are you most influenced by?
ID: Picasso, Miro, Basquiat, Goldie and Richter.
PZ: How would you define art?
ID: A medium for self-expression and a generator of interpretations.
PZ: What are you working on now?
ID: A series of abstract paintings and drawings in which I process my experiences.
PZ: How does the pandemic influence your work and sensibility?
ID: For my work it has not only given me more time to spend because I lost my job as a stagehand but also more drive because I was accepted by singulart.com a online art gallery early on in the pandemic and the sense of urgency. For my sensibility, at the start I was only processing my experience of everyday life at home during a lockdown until about a month ago when I was given a chance to help as a temporary logistic assistant in residential care centers that had staff shortages due to outbreaks. There I felt the stress, fear of contamination and saw up close the reality of old people dying, afraid and confused because they were alone, locked up or moved. I hope my coping with it by painting and drawing will share the experience.