Destruction of Paris It is a work by Kende from 2010: mixed media on wood, 140 × 110 cm, horizontal. It is currently in a private collection.
The title is stark, but the painting itself is far less so. The lower part is almost entirely light grey. A dark veil—black and bottle green—descends from the top on the right. Ochre and brown patches blend towards the centre. Long, thin drips fall down to the bottom edge, like rain on a window pane.
In the centre run thin lines of cursive script, one above the other, like a letter written in haste. They are letters, as always in Kende’s work, and almost always his name. The K stretches out like a treble clef, the E closes in a circle. Repeated line after line, the letters become textures: you look at them before trying to read them. In some places the paint is thicker and the mark seems engraved, not painted.
The work is on wood, not canvas, and you can tell. The surface is rigid and the paint lies on top in thin layers, which can be scraped away and reapplied. The drips run straight down, without being absorbed. The light grey at the bottom allows the painting to ‘breathe’, and makes the darkness coming from above seem heavier.
Paris was one of Kende’s favourite cities. He used to go there to paint, and it was there that he met one of the graffiti artists he admired most: O’Clock. He was struck by O’Clock’s perseverance, his attitude and the dedication with which he worked. The painting does not depict a specific event. Its title refers to a city that meant a great deal to him, and it depicts it bathed in a shower of colour.
From the same year, and linked to the same city, is Rue de Rivoli, on canvas. For those who want to understand how graffiti transforms into painting, the page on the Dissolutionism describes Kende’s style.
TITLE: Destruction of Paris
YEAR: 2010
TECHNIQUE: Mixed media on wood
WIDTH: 140 cm
HEIGHT: 110 cm
THICKNESS: 6 cm
CATALOGUE: DOP10
ORIGINAL: Not available
PRINTS: Not available
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