Devis Grebu

I've never tried to look or act original, and I think originality should not be a deliberate goal in itself. Rather, it is the result and the reward of a long and enduring effort to discover one's true vision. I am always striving to lose contact with certain realities and make my work more absolute, like an isolated molecule, an essence, a core. Art should increase the understanding of the viewer as well as of the artist. It is a new answer to certain questions, or a question looking for new answers. I use reality as a means of expressing something beyond reality.


My exploration of our contemporary myths is imprinted with a sense of humor, which often points up human absurdity. My way of laughing at it becomes a strange alliance between tragedy and comedy.


Using so many aesthetical means of expression has led me to refuse any specialization. Every technique has an interest for me. It is stimulating to explore them, to mix them. In terms of temperament, I have a curiosity, a taste for risk, for overcoming difficulties, and I like to put my creative forces to the test. Usually, it is the idea I wish to express that determines my choice of medium. But sometimes, it may be my mood, or the weather or the requirements of the printing process or the paper to be used in reproducing an image. I am always curious to try different disciplines: I have designed postage stamps and stage sets; created sculptures, murals and etchings.


It is a bittersweet paradox that says on the one hand: All is lost! On the other hand: All is fun! I feel in myself an appetite for happiness and gaiety, for love. Perhaps this explains the playfulness in my work. When you turn the world upside down, you can take a fresh look at it.


Despite this - or because of it - I have mastered a large number of diverse techniques; I've never had a predilection for any one in particular, but I am interested in trying them all.