Malice gets penetrated Print

When you behold the work of PEter dePELchin, it seems as if you're entering a whole new reality. A new reality containing a symbiosis of art history and topicality. For five years, PEter dePELchin has been working on a consistent oeuvre that on the one hand tenderly pounds into the subconscious of the spectator and on the other hand takes a detailed look at the collective archetypes. He accomplishes a universal imagery that draws from the past and reflects on the present. This base is a breeding ground for challenges and questions that will provoke the artist for the rest of his life. The work has several appearances. The main part of it consist of drawings. PEter dePELchin devours -in a delineating way- every detail of art history. By linking this to a creative and associative process of thinking, peculiar images come into being that at first glance seem unrecognisable, but can subsequently reveal themselves to the spectator. According to the artist himself, his life is characterised by a sequence of particular historical areas of interest. These areas are being fed by an intense substantive analysis. The content is approached formally, but also substantively examined. Then, PEter dePELchin continues by de-contextualising and contextualising. A process in which he pulls every symbolic or archetypical element out of its context, in order to create a new reality. The content of that new reality coincides closely with the concerns and questions of the artist regarding the current socio-cultural and political situation. This new imagery then starts living its own life. Like this, little by little, illustrative leitmotivs come into being. These motives have the power to stir up controversy, even today. That's how PEter dePELchin creates three-dimensional setups, paintings and sculptures, starting from that important illustrative basis. The oeuvre of PEter dePELchin has "˜universality' as its ultimate goal. He strikes and breaks open the collective consciousness, starting from the concept of the "˜human identity'. That makes his work critical and modern. PEter dePELchin searches for the "˜human being' and the "˜being human' using humanity, which is exactly what sets him apart.