To accomplish Destruktion is to find some fundamental truth in deep-seated traditions. This is at least according to the philosophical convictions of Heiddeger, who believed that a systematic dismantling of concepts is needed in order to gain a clearer view. But how do artists engage in the process of destruction if what they primarily do is build and create? Is there destruktion in painting? Could the accumulative act of applying pigment to canvas, ink on paper, or printing tonal ranges on surfaces be equivalent to the notion of putting an end to ‘creation?’ To destroy? In certain ways, artists do find methods on how to destroy through construction. Though objects are not literally destroyed, expectations and sensibilities are undermined or at the very least—rattled. An inclination and appetite for new perspectives and approaches to image-making might sound like the opposite of destruction, but at its very core lies the critical wrecking ball that swings from one end to another. Artists should create in order to destroy. It is the simple yet exceptional formula reserved for individuals whose passion lies in producing objects. To build is to destroy, to destroy is to build. To create is to destroy what was once built. To paint is to cancel out and destroy another artist’s brush strokes, so to speak—one’s old, previous, and bygone brush stroke.

CLJ