Whether working on small-format paper surfaces or on enormous walls, the artist Thomas Trum (1989) is always searching for unconventional working methods. He explores new techniques, such as painting with a sponge mounted on a drilling machine, or with felt tip pens measuring several metres high. For Kunsthal Light #23 he has transformed a highly advanced road marking machine into a painting tool. On Monday 7 September, Trum will move into the Kunsthal’s ‘display window’ for a day. Layer by layer, he will be spray-painting overlapping areas of colour onto the twenty-metres-wide wall in the elongated, narrow space.
For realising his site-specific work ‘Repeating ramp’, Trum was inspired by the angle of inclination, the length, and the raw concrete of the ramp. His goal is to realise a mural that is rich in contrast; with two colour blocks following the direction of the ramp and a third going in the opposite direction. The road marking machine’s rapid movements create a lively play of lines, the end result of which is never completely predictable.
Artist Talk
Also part of the Kunsthal Light talent development programme are a concise publication about the creative process and an Artist Talk. The date of the Artist Talk will be announced on the website in September.
Thomas Trum
Thomas Trum has been seeking out experiments from a young age. He was already doing graffiti while still at primary school; wanting to learn things through making, instead of just reading about them in books. In 2010, Trum graduated from the art school SintLucas in Boxtel, and continued his studies at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. With the help of a work grant from the Creative Industries Fund NL in 2016, Trum was able to realise a number of projects, including a series of four murals for Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. When asked about his dreams, Trum replied: “I think it would be really cool if I could take an agricultural machine to the moon and work fulltime on making drawings there that are visible to everyone. Also, getting a commission to make a colourful design for a bank note would really be a dream come true!”
Kunsthal Light
Kunsthal Light creates opportunities for talented artists. The spotlight is aimed at modern muralists, urban artists and cartoonists, conceptual art and art installations. Artists are given free rein to make a site-specific work in the display window along the ramp, and engage in conversation with the public. In 2020, Kunsthal Light is also made possible by the Mondriaan Fund.
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