Richard Höglund

Lives and works in Paris, France

Artist statement

When Narcissus stoops, Death is the reward. His kiss breaches the impenetrable image screen, a crime far worse than self-love. The watery Real greets Narcissus with Nature's indomitability, and a grave. Endeavour, human endeavour, great or small, must respect this uncrossable divide, lest the fate of Narcissus be our own. And while the story of Narcissus is cautionary to all of civilisation, it is of particular poignancy to our current semeocapitalist, simulacral society. And painting ? Painting today stands at a threshold. As Prometheus gave fire to humans, we now seek to give fire to machines. Humanity at risk – be it from our creations or from the Earth reclaiming herself – painting has become more pertinent than ever. I have dedicated my life to it as a refusal of the speed & screen that hurls us towards self-destruction. Hyperaware of the ethical conundrum of the mimetic desire, I seek painting that appears to dance in the daffodils at the pond’s edge, to flirt with Death, and, with a wink, to get away with it. + + ++ +++ +++++ ++++++++ +++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++ A NOTE ON (THE) CLOUDS I. Socrates swings by in a basket "In looking at the Clouds, I suspend the intellect (νόημα) and hang thought in the aether to dance with its likeness, air." II. In a fool’s joy, in blocked and scattered light, I lift dirt to the sky. That’s what a painting is.

Artwork