In this ‘need it now’ age of instant gratification, Paul Kaptein’s work is a refreshing disruption.
When first viewing these hand carved wooden artworks it is easy to be transfixed by the skilful detailing, to be drawn in by the distorted figurative subject matter and by the epic amount of painful hours expended in carving and sanding. Further contemplation of these sculptures reveals that they are infused with Kaptein’s prodigious imagination, his hunger for information and fascination with the world we inhabit. These sculptures are vessels that he utilises to explore philosophies of time and space, with a sensible amount of humour thrown in, and a nod of the head to new technologies whilst using a traditional technique.
The distortion, the stretching and compressing, of the human forms can be read as a ‘disruption in the time structure’ of the artwork. Some ‘disruptions’ appear similar to an old video still, a glitch, or a frozen moment for the viewer to take stock, to contemplate alongside the still figure. It is for this reason that the eyes in his figurative works are often closed or covered, making the figures appear lost in thought and removing the confrontation of a returned gaze. Kaptein is also interested in the Sunyata theory of nothingness, revealed in some works by the purposeful gaps left between the laminated wooden sections. As Kaptein noted in a recent interview, silence is hugely underrated today.
Silence, stillness and nothingness activate these works. In his artist statement he notes that "Space is full of holes. Holes that draw matter and light in. Holes that bend and warp the surrounding space. Holes that open the potential for time travel and concurrent, parallel universes. Multiple versions of Now potentially looping and flowing forth. I’m drawn to these theoretical apertures as they engage the tactic of disrupting time, through acceleration, deceleration, bending, pausing and looping and by opening up space to present simultaneous pasts, presents and futures. Time is remixed. Matter is emptied out.
Utilising the human form as an interface through which to explore these ideas, time becomes an armature upon which to question whether these gaps, spaces and notions of emptiness are passive receptacles or systems of connection and dialogue - charged spaces of exchange. These ‘empty gestures’ seek to collapse distinctions of inner and outer space and the linear unfurling of time that asserts a past, present and future."
His sense of humour is evident in works such as Am I really all the things that are outside me?, that takes cultural foibles (that are often associated with young men) such as pretending to play the guitar on a cricket bat whilst wearing Kiss boots and wearing a Boba Fett from Star Wars helmet. Music is also implicated in another work, Three hours of nothin’ in which a distorted young man is playing the air guitar.
Accompanying the sculptures is a series of framed watercolour drawings. These are an antidote to the painstaking woodcarving. Ideas are quickly discharged, and text and patterning run riot.
Kaptein majored in sculpture at art school, graduating in 1999, but strangely sculpture didn’t form a significant part of his practice until 2010. Over the past five years these laminated hand carved sculptural forms have quickly developed and reflect his interest in various cultural phenomena: films, music, space exploration, science, technology and philosophy. The art world has responded positively. Kaptein won the 2014 Mandorla Art Award and the 2015 Mid West Art Prize. Public and private collections have started to actively acquire his work, international publications are featuring him, he has a solo exhibition coming up in New York with Krauss Gallery, a two month residency with Sculpture Space in the US from late September 2015 and his work will be featured in the 2016 Scope Art Fair in New York.
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- TURNER GALLERIES | showcasing contemporary art
at 470 WILLIAM STREET NORTHBRIDGE WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6003 - TURNER GALLERIES HAS NOW CLOSED.
This website is an archived record of the exhibitions and artwork shown at the gallery. - Turner Galleries acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters where Turner Galleries is situated, and pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
- Website © 2000-2024 TURNER GALLERIES. All images are © the artists and are not to be used without permission.
- This is a millapede project.
