Rik Moens ° 1969 Ninove (BE)
Rik Moens paints in acrylics, manipulating the paint in different consistencies and, like an accomplished alchemist, he experiments with a range of additives, including thickeners and glues. The drying process does not always take place as expected and the paint may shrink, ripple or crack. In this aspect of ‘accident’, the artist sees the opportunity of incorporating this result as an aesthetic element in the work. Another characteristic is the emphasis placed on the material aspects of painting itself. The dripping of paint on the sides of the canvases is unimpeded. This reinforces the ideas of stepping out of the flat plane and adding a three-dimensional factor to the work. The work of Rik Moens is a continuous interplay between artistic integrity and playful irony, between intimacy and expressive power.