Lucas Stolz

Lives and works in Barcelona, Spain

Artist statement

Artwords — Writing Images. Lucas Stolz understands calligraphy as a painterly act. Signs and symbols as raw material for images in which words dissolve, leaving traces of a body that writes, where it could paint. In his work, he explores four fundamental levels of handwriting: the invention and transformation of signs; continuous writing, which, through repetition, makes our humanity visible; the development of custom writing tools, that shape the stroke; and the analysis and repurposing of materials from diverse writing cultures. Stolz develops processes and techniques that are idiosyncratic, almost defiant. They demand physical effort, they distort, chop, and multiply the stroke—giving it temperament. This process re-examines the question of authorship: Who is writing here—the hand, the tool, or the surface? Throughout, meaning stays ambiguous. Signs are invented, or heavily distorted, they become antiwriting — glyphs suggest a message while simultaneously denying it. Where legibility breaks down the viewer's own interpretations come into play. Room for a different way of reading opens up, where the marks leave the flat surface and become multi-dimensional.

Artwork