‘Party wallpaper’ is what André Smits calls his wall artworks. “Because it brightens everything up.” All over the world he paints the names of local artists with black paint on white walls. From relatively unknown draftsmen and painters to big names such as Dana Lixenberg and Maria Roosen. With squiggly lines and arrows he connects them all in huge networks.
A bare wall on the Gouvernestraat in Rotterdam also became the setting for a meter-high mural in 2018. The scene makes connections between the names of more than six hundred artists from the port city, such as draftsman Anouk Griffioen and visual artist Joep van Lieshout. Last week, Smits expanded this wall artwork with hundreds of new names.
‘My fascination for other artists arose quite spontaneously’, says Smits, after he put down the brush after a long week of painting. ‘In 2008 I had a studio at Kunst & Complex in Rotterdam, just like dozens of other artists. I was asked to photograph them all in their workplace, and that’s when the ball started rolling. I now photograph artists worldwide in their studio. It was definitely not a preconceived plan, but I soon found that this is the perfect alibi to be invited by people who normally keep their doors closed.’ Smits’ counter now stands at 5,722.
As a final project, Smits makes a mural of the names of the artists he has photographed there in all the cities he visits. This is also the case in his old hometown of Rotterdam. ‘I call them graphic travel diaries’, says Smits. ‘It’s wonderful to connect all the artists I’ve met in this way. And it is more unique than another photo exhibition.’
Smits asks everyone he photographs to turn their back to the camera, a motif that de Rückenfigur is called. The partly anonymous person in the foreground invites the viewer to take a look at his or her world. That’s exactly what Smits is looking for: ‘I’m not a photographer, so I’m not interested in taking portrait photos. By capturing artists from the back, the studio and therefore the artistry itself come to the fore.’
He does not select the artists that Smits photographs in advance. Instead, he asks those he captures to introduce him to other artists. ‘My networks grow very organically and thus show how the hierarchy of the art world works. An ordinary artist of my level easily refers me to ten other artists from his circle, but with a Luc Tuymans it is very different.’
In Rotterdam, Smits also establishes contact with the neighbourhood. Like almost every aspect of his art, this came about by chance: ‘Passers-by asked if their name could also be on the wall. I thought, why not? Ultimately, they have to live with this work of art. And I like to involve people who are not directly involved with art in this way, as a kind of social artist.’