In his first solo exhibition, on display from 13 September to 26 October at 37PK in Haarlem, Phylos Donkertino (1996) questions the transience of his works. His background in graffiti forms the starting point, in which the temporary is a given. He is used to the fact that the works disappear and only live on in photographic documentation. Phylos is always on the lookout for decayed locations. He takes you on a journey through stories that should have already disappeared and been forgotten. By placing works that should have remained outside inside, he invites the viewer to observe traces of time and transience in graffiti and painting.

 

By preserving what should have disappeared, he questions established painting and the value we attach to it. Outside, where the immediacy of the action and the moment are essential, Phylos found his way into a jungleof abstract forms and gestures in which he could do as he pleased,with very few obstacles. Nowadays, Phylos has reversed this movement and immersed himself in a more intuitive form of painting. Through this way of working, he has increasingly left the typical graffiti aesthetic behind. Letters have changed into plant-like forms with hard frames. He seeks out contrasts and deliberately allows edges to collide. This is also an expression of his inner world, in which he experiences a great deal of volatility and doubt, but also has a strong autonomous focus.

 

Last year, Phylos developed his independent practice as a visual artist, supported by the Urban Arts Talent Development programme of the Fund for Cultural Participation. This period provided space for material research, experimentation and reflection. With the support of fellow artists Bo Stokkermans, curator Jasper van Es, and publisher Roald de Jong and 37PK, the exhibition Fractured Frames and the accompanying publication were created. The publication, a collaboration with Chemistry Publishing, captures in its design the world as Phylos sees it, and displays it in this exhibition.