Given the fundamental changes that have influenced contemporary lifestyle, it goes without saying that our world is seduced by the digital. Within this extraordinary space, questions are raised that propose new ways of seeing the world. What does it mean in terms of its ability to challenge visual perception? Contiguous to this new space is a modality of being: this is where Marc Boutges situates his work.
We've come to understand the role hybridity plays in our contemporary world, our culture. Messages are lost and found again, things mix like they've never mixed before. Marc Boutges finds this to not only be intriguing, but also profound. However, he realizes that the post modern is only a counter-modernism a propos of Jean-Francois Lyotard. Therefore, remarkable artists captivated by modernism, a historical time period that was always in flux, constantly put pressure on the expressivity of the pictorial plane. We all know that the pictorial plane was one of the key battle fields in the years modernism held sway. Marc Boutges also exploits this space by referencing artists such as Cy Twombly, and more contemporary artists like Christopher Wool and Steven Hendee. Although for the latter, Marc Boutges puts fireworks into Hendee sending shards flying across space.
Marc Boutges finds that the sensibility of punk is an impactful device for questioning his approach to painting/collage. He puts pressure on the process of painting to come to terms with this new digital space. Where is it all going? This is exactly what Marc Boutges work is all about. He is interested in the possibilities of new forms to question the expressivity of painting/collage and the digital.
Written by Obinna Izeogu and Marc Boutges