In the time from the fall of the Berlin Wall to completion of his university studies in Design in 2009, his work is dominated by an intensive exploration of urban space as well as its active shaping. His studies proved useful, strengthening his confidence. What followed was a prolonged process of adaptation and search for identity, borne by the intention of projecting his artistic work from within the context of urban space into the studio.
Kay Schwarz thus defines his position in the Leipzig art scene.

HEAD STUDIES
The main subject of Kay Schwarz’s work is formed by expressive figurative depictions that are staged as stylised heads. Initially, urban space served as the context of these head studies. Through the medium of the canvas, the range of tools also expanded. In addition to a broad spectrum of permanent markers and spray paints, it now included conventional acrylic paints, inks and graphite, enhanced through the application of various everyday materials. The cadences are light and spontaneous. The presence of the line and the colour applied in sections allude to the artistic roots of Kay Schwarz.

BACKGROUND
The transferring of the pictorial object into the studio calls for an adequate substitute for the urban setting. Leipzig, as his hometown and the site of his work, now captured on canvas, provides the background for the mise-en-scène. True to its role model, this imitated urban space is subject to constant change in a relative reality. Perspectives change, forms dissolve in a cubistic manner and the laws of logic are turned upside down.

SOCIETY AS A GAME
His current artistic work offers Kay Schwarz the opportunity to seek out the freedom that he was able to experience as part of a real sub-culture in his past. His work in the legal sphere, pieces in the studio, the medium of the canvas, and the role of the artist enhance his spectrum of possibilities for communication.
The paths he chooses are subtle, without a dogmatic wagging finger. His free approach to perspectives, colour and form, referencing Schiller’s return to the aesthetic and the playful, mirrors his view of the everyday in the context of our western society. Subsequently, the game as a specifically human ability tends to present possibilities of resolving problems and conflicts creatively. With this exhibition, the artist Kay Schwarz offers viewers the chance to be part of (t)his social parlour game.

Peter Niemann
M.Sc. History, Theory and Display