Kitra

Description

After studying art in Bucharest, Kitra turned to street art, initially in a comic-like and figurative style, later with increasingly abstract and geometric compositions. The latter feature special colour combinations: a pale pink and strong, clear red often play an important role, contrasting with other pastel or primary tones and elements in black and white. As a rule, the composition of such works is clearly related to the respective framing. Kitra cites artists such as Frank Stella, Peter Halley and Bridget Riley as influences. What sets him apart, however, is the additional influence of urban art; the structures and rhythms of graffiti writing shine through in his pictures. Architecture not only enters into dialogue with paintings on built surfaces but also increasingly proffers its own sculptural wooden constructions. Within the infinite possibilities of geometric constellations, there lies a great freedom. Kitra’s project for the Urban Art Biennale 2024 is a tower-like installation called Camouflage. At 10 metres in height, it is his largest work to date. Notwithstanding its title, the multicoloured design contrasts starkly with the surroundings in the ore yard of the World Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte. Coming 100 years after Vladimir Tatlin’s unrealised tower project, the work’s lofty form prompts the question as to whether it should be read as post-utopian or even, already, neo-utopian.

Robert Kaltenhäuser