The Bigger the Short, the Sweeter the Bottom

Using the formalist conventions of an ironic heritage, William Ludwig Lutgens attains the expression of something sincere. Like the philosophical idiot who did his utmost best to unlearn all the fallacies he was acquitted with since birth and now only knows he knows nothing, the artist made the world into his own theater wherein he can stomp around like a bull in a china shop with the grace of a prima ballerina. Forcing a pathway to possible exits by presenting us with the alloy of his observations, imagination and scattershot references. Not merely asking questions, which seems to be the hype in contemporary art nowadays, he is unraveling the framework wherein these questions originate. The image deconstructed by the story of its creation, alternating between the power and impotence of the theatrical madness at the end of the world as we know it. William Ludwig Lutgens presents with his Comedy of Humours the dysfunctional family of man.
Text in English and Dutch.

William Ludwig Lutgens (°1991) lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium. In his artistic practice, Lutgens works on multiple works at the same time, so that they can grow together creating a cohesive universe leaving the spectator somewhere in a juxtaposition, between the playful and the serious, amusement and discomfort. William Ludwig’s work is a reflection of autobiographical elements combined with social realities, fixations and fantasies as well as human behaviors, urges and lusts. William Ludwig is best known for his drawings and paintings in which he depicts lavish scenes with expressive, dreamy lines. He creates an often burlesque universe that evokes the contrarian spirit of James Ensor, with a biting sense of humor. In addition, he has also been making more spatial work for some time now. Lutgens always tries to form his ideas starting form a drawing, which then quickly derives in another form, such as sculpture, sounds, text and images. William Ludwig Lutgens is versatile as it often emerges as a condensation of the streams of information that flow through his mind and it gradually evolves into a narrative. Trying to create these anecdotes in his signature illustrative style, leaves the viewer often with cultural associations or political issues.