Lode Laperre

I clearly remember my first encounter with Lode Laperre's paintings. As my gaze travelled over the textured surfaces, intense and smooth, rich in detail, daring in form and atmosphere, an initial strangeness emerged, in the sense that it got hold of me, and steered me towards new thoughts, new solutions and responses. The moment felt profoundly pure, as pure is Lode Laperre's visual expression. 

In the artist’s paintings, there is an absence of a narrative logic, of information about what motivated his intention or the inception of the gesture, about the before, the past. By giving up these allusions or identifiable representations, Laperre creates a grammar that is very much his own, conceptual in form and communication.

It is also worth mentioning the way in which each work, individually, shows a personality and unique character, as if it were its own, untransferable DNA, possibly originating in that tiny moment in which the artist decides to abandon control and surrender the creative process to the unpredictability of the materials themselves.

The methods that Laperre employs are also surprising, uncovering layers of paint, gouging, scraping, often ripping the canvas itself, as if he is dazzled by the moment and just as curious about the hidden secrets underneath. The artist drills down to the tiniest molecule, in search of the genetic information of the work, of something that informs or guides, amid so much amazement and questioning.

Looking at Laperre's work is also an exercise that requires one's time. If it is too short, it may prevent the senses from discovering the unexpected landscapes that each look reveals. 

Enargeia, the exhibition that the DAC proudly presents is another small piece of trying to understand the mysteries and wonders of Lode Laperre's work. 
Will we reach any conclusions? Probably not, but perhaps that's as it's meant to be.

Rui Guerreiro, Lisbon, September 2022

‘There are flowers that do not communicate with man except by their form. This makes them precious in the eyes of some and soulless in the eyes of others. They are the azaleas, flowers of ancient China. Those who call them soulless flowers mean that they have no perfume. But because they have form and beauty, many men love them, and this love gives them the soul they need.’
Eduardo Lourenço 'Da pintura'