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Certain Kind Of Beauty

Interview with the artist Tobias Spichtig

A conversation with the artist to explore the angular forms of a singular beauty and individuals whose faces possess something enigmatic. Tobias opens up glimpses into the past, talks about different facets of art and how his gaze is focused on the current world and what can be extracted from it. Aesthetics is a kind of given, one must be able to grasp it and delve into its tangle.

If you have to describe your creative expression, how would you do it? How would you say, “This is the soul of my aesthetic”?

A certain kind of beauty.

The hollowed and angular faces in your paintings bring to life that dark yet elegant world, reminiscent of Kirchner. Is there something specific from your background that you unconsciously find in your work, be it art, fashion, or personal memory?

Listening to grunge growing up in the countryside and being in the mountains. Catholic Churches and Andy Warhol. Paintings and clothes. I’ve always loved paintings and clothes. My Grandmother was a seamstress and all of my grandparents were alpine farmers. Dreaming of glamorous big cities, theater and opera.

“I daydream about everything and I have a pretty clear idea of what I want.”

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In your pieces, fashion and art often intertwine, creating a cohesive blend. Share your approach to these two worlds; have they always been connected, or did you unexpectedly engage with one later on?

I think they’re all the same world and part of a whole great thing. Same with music or writing. Of course the industries and institutions behind it are very different, but I am more focused on the things or the work itself. I am more into the actual world than worlds.

“The aesthetic is something I cannot escape. It is like a given, a style that happens when chasing something beautiful.”

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If you were to discuss a professional milestone that you didn’t expect but represented a significant turning point for you, what would it be?

To have been invited by Elena Filipovic, whom I have admired since years, to realise my most recent show at Kunsthalle Basel. And to have had Ken Lum as a teacher many years ago.

When you create and realise an art work, is there a specific aesthetic or model you explicitly want to capture, or do the characters materialise from a spontaneous flow?

It is always someone I admire, close friends or images that I have in my mind. They come as a continuous flow. I photograph and sketch constantly. I daydream about everything and I have a pretty clear idea of what I want. Then it becomes something of its own. I also like to work with live models in the studio lately. The aesthetic is something I cannot escape. It is like a given, a style that happens when chasing something beautiful.

Can you tell us about what you’re currently working on or a project you’d like to undertake in your career?

I’m painting and planning upcoming shows. I don’t work in terms of projects so much. I’m more focused on working continuously. I just finished a piece of jewelry as an edition for Kunsthalle Basel that I really love. Two catalogues are in the works and about to go to print. Apart from that I would love to make some clothes soon and play a mean villan in a movie or something. But I also like to sing, so I might work on some performances that go along with the paintings again.

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Certain Kind Of Beauty

Credits:

Artist: Tobias Spichtig / @spichtigunlimited
Interview: Annalisa Fabbrucci / @annalisa_fabbrucci
Editor: Maria Abramenko  / @mariabramenko

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