Kendell Geers Ligne de Fuite 02832, 2014 Acrylic on canvas 170 x 170cm 67 x 67 inches Framed: 173 x 173 cm / 68 1/8 x 68 1/8 inches The ‘Ligne de Fuite’ paintings feature the instantly recognisable shapes of razor wire, a powerful motif which recurs throughout the artist’s practice. In the figurative paintings, Geers was inspired by the Sienese painters of the thirteenth to fifteenth century and he interweaves the lines of the razor wire into traditional forms of the crucifixion. The purely abstracted works were inspired by the compositions of Sol LeWitt ‘Wall Drawings’ but here, Geers uses razor wire in place of pure line. The paintings take the title from philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s concept ‘Ligne de Fuite’, developed with Felix Guattari, which related to the act of fleeing, flowing or disappearing into the distance. As such, the lines scarred in the painting question notions of borders and barriers, imprisonment and gateways. In the absence of the brush as the painterly tool, Geers employed his own body as the instrument of gesture. The performative painting process in this series involved a first layer of paint being thrown and poured onto the canvas. On top of the first gestural layer Geers applied the motif and then a further layer of paint. This creates a comparatively ordered balance in both line and texture.
