Mic Linder

Born 1988 in Vasa, Finland, Mic Linder discovered graffiti art as a teenager: he also enjoyed comic book styles, which he would rapidly sketch out in one or two colours. Later, he developed an interest for Goya's and Käthe Kollwitz's works. Pursuing academic realism, Linder got bored and discovered German Expressionism, COBRA, and the neo-expressionists. Nowadays, he tries not to look at any art.

Statement:

"What I do is based on some intentionlessness. I start out with a vaguely formulated idea - or hunch - and no matter what kind of a picture it is it must contain music or rhythm, otherwise, it won't work. If it works, as in with painting generally, it is because there is musicality or rhythmicity, no matter how morally corrupt or otherwise objectionable the content of the work may be. I once read a book about child psychology and creativity, in which a little girl's remark was quoted as follows: "I just begin, and it gets good." I thought that this is all you need as a working principle: just begin, and things will happen. So basically I start off with a hunch, adding layer after layer until I have overworked the picture, in which case I start subtracting or starting over completely. When the painting is done, it is so because I am completely squeezed and unable to do anything more.

But just to be clear: intentionlessness does not mean "anything goes," and that there is no thought behind the work. Intentionlessness refers to the technical notion that there must be a spontaneous gestuality in the act of painting that is guided by intuition and presence rather than by predetermined aims or ideas. This is, in part, why I´ve tried to avoid developing a particular manner of painting, or "style." I think style becomes something you put between yourself and the world... If you choose to be honest, you can´t be thinking about being coherent at the same time; you must be present in what is happening in the picture (or sculpture). Let it paint itself."