The Book of Love was a collection of abstract works exhibited at Kit & Ace during August 2016.
An essay by Jacqueline Houghton
Although extending his previous themes concerning the physical and digital realms of the Gold Coast; its growth and change, Claudio Kirac’s new series is very much an expression of personal euphoria. In dancing visual fields of soaring arcs and bursts of shimmering colour, the paintings are a declaration of joy dedicated to the creative life he shares with his long-term partner and their approaching nuptials. The WE U ME titles reference this liaison and Claudio’s quest for an interactive sense of balance and harmony.
Accord, exhilaration and luminous colour are the order of the day in compositions that constantly adapt and morph with the energies surging about and through him. A sense of immediacy permeates the canvases in the loose, intuitive application of paint. Spontaneous mark-making, accidental drips, splatters and impulsive erasures determine the outcome. Claudio’s chromatic orchestrations and gestural nuances speak fluidly to the senses. The instinctual manifests, drawing the viewer into the immersive context of the works. As explorations of the relationship between form and intangible experience, they affirm Paul Klee’s famous tenet, “Art does not reproduce the visible, rather, it makes visible”.
Claudio is featured as the gallery’s Artist of the Month to highlight his selection as the Gold Coast’s representative in an international ‘global wall’ artist’s program hosted by the Kit & Ace store in the recently renovated Pacific Fair complex at Broadbeach. Already hailed as a cultural ambassador for the Gold Coast, he comments on his latest achievement, “It is quite ironic that in my project HELLO SUNSHINE for the Gold Coast City Gallery (October 2015), I documented the demise of the former Pacific Fair and its association for me with fun, youth and growing up. Now my works will feature in the newly established, sprawling 'metropolis' that is the updated Pacific Fair. It signals a wonderfully positive message of change”.
