3 Weekends from 11am – 3pm
07.12 & 08.12
14.12 & 15.12
21.12 & 22.12
Kalkbreite
Badenerstrasse 177
8003 Zürich
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“Think, dear Sir, of the world that you carry inside you, and call this thinking whatever you want to: a remembering of your own childhood or a yearning toward a future of your own — only be attentive to what is arising within you, and place that above everything you perceive around you. What is happening on your innermost self is worthy of your entire love; somehow you must find a way to work at it, and not lose too much time or too much courage in clarifying your attitude toward people.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
There is something in my relationship with Kasper’s year devoted to art that reminded me of Rilke’s correspondence with the young Austrian officer and then aspiring poet, Franz Kappus. Without knowing each other personally, the two men opened their deepest thoughts and feelings in letters that sought to describe and understand what ‘true’ art really is, where it comes from, and which human ‘state’ it most benefits from to reach its most genuine expression.
Working with Kasper has been a gift in both the professional and personal realms. From the minute we met, our conversations reached a degree of depth and openness that are rare to come by in contemporary adult life. Having the privilege to accompany an artist in his creative process through an open portal that welcomes all movements connected to the development of form and concept, but also to feelings and sensations that are usually shunned, like fear, uncertainty, and vulnerability, is what I consider a truly enriching experience.
This exhibition portrays the intensity and connection with which Kasper has devoted himself to artistic creation in only one year. I can’t remember a time in my curatorial career when I came across a self-taught artist who delved into a completely new endeavor and managed to develop his own language and reach such a level of conceptual, technical, and formal consistency, in such little time. I believe that Kasper managed to produce so much with such cohesion due to his honesty, courage, and genuine openness to everything that was happening to him, inside, and out.
In (less than) 365 days, Kasper learned how to work with clay and draw with graphite and charcoal. Sensing the dancing movement of his hands, he also responded to his drawings’ call and turned several into audiovisual animations often accompanied by music he composed and produced. There are at least three completely different techniques that the artist is developing simultaneously and for the first time. And I find it truly impressive how these three mediums interconnect and also how each one found its own, unique, absolutely original, and coherent aesthetic. Kasper´s drawings are imprints of free, gestural instances that speak of the mind-body-spirit connection, openness, intuition, and trust. His abstract circular traces seem to give voice to the air that flows through our bodies, keeping us alive imperceptibly, quietly, and in constant movement.
Kasper’s work in ceramics responds to a similar frequency, crystallizing in solid form these same dances and movement: a curl reminiscent of the Möbius strip, where the simplest of surfaces reveal how the inside and the outside are always coexistent in time and space; his abstract shapes in light and darker, grey tones explore this same spatial logic, at the same time that they delve into texture and the specific materiality of clay. Larger and more complex pieces remind us of flowers, plants, or coral reefs, and all are faithful expressions of this young artist’s natural sense of essence, elegance, and beauty. I celebrate this exceptional start to an artistic life and cannot wait to continue accompanying Kasper’s creative unfolding.
Veronica Cordeiro, Montevideo, Uruguay. December, 2024
r.s.v.p.