Exclusive interview with Kitt Buch. Discover her artwork and find out more about the meaning of her work. Where did the ideas come from? Why clowns as a focus? Keep on reading to get a view behind the work of Kitt Buch!
With a fairytale theme by the use of clowns, skeletons and imaginary figures she creates art in a way that is beautiful, frightening, fragile, strong, crazy and sexy all at the same time. What is she trying to tell the world? Where is she going with this weird, yet admirable style? That is exactly some of the questions I asked, in this exclusive interview with Kitt Buch!
The beginning of the oil paintings.
Kitt Buch found her interest for oil paintings as a follow up from all her aquarelle and mixed media work, which has been a great and exciting challenge for her. The first two great oil paintings are called “Rock On Piggy Piggy” and “Når Hænderne Er Skruet Forkert På”. Kitt Buch’s main character is a clown girl, who is represented in many of her paintings. The inspiration came randomly from a halloween costume, as a part of Kitt herself. Now this clown girl has got her own life and her own story, which can be told from interactions with other characters in Kitt’s paintings.
But why clowns?
Kitt Buch is fascinated about what scares people. Clowns can be very uncomfortable and bring anxiety to some people, but at the same time they can be funny and entertaining to others. The different effects that they can have is for Kitt both confusing and attractive, which is what makes it interesting for her to work with. The figures in her paintings don’t necessarily have to mean anything specific to her, but pops up in her head along the way of her creations, which makes her work just as much about herself, as the world around her.
The symbolism of Kitt Buch’s paintings.
The big theme in her painting are the contrast between the grotesque, the beautiful and the humor. All of the characters in her paintings are a bag of mixed candy. Fascination, history, adventure and all the things that Kitt herself experiences in her life in the past and present, are all factors that takes part in her creations. Whatever people might see as the right symbolism in her paintings, might not be the same as what Kitt sees. The right way to see it is up to the individual. She uses many of her motives as symbolism, like the gasmasks and the eyes. Kitt calls the eyes “eyeball flowers”, which is a symbol of both paranoia - how the character can go out of its body and reflections of the surveillance in our community. The “Gasmaskmouse” is a symbol of both fear of war and terror, but also about Kitt’s own childhood with Disney and to hide your true self.
Kitt Buch’s work. Scary or not?
Another theme that you can see through Kitt’s paintings, are the way that people goes by in life with a good sense of humor, even though life sometimes can be difficult and confusing. It is not necessarily Kitt’s goal to scare people with her paintings, but more to point out the questions of what really is scary to you. First, she wants you to see all the different colours in her paintings, but when you get closer you might discover that the character doesn't have eyes or is getting choked by a flower with eyeballs for instance.
Kitt Buch’s sources of inspiration.
Some of Kitt Buch’s great idols are the pop surrealist artist Mark Ryden, but she also admires the work of danish artists Anne Juul Christoffersen, Hans Henrik Fischer and Julie Nord. She is attracted to art she can identify herself with in her own life story, that can only be expressed through the creative work. Se recognizes herself in pop surrealism and lowbrow, which she actually first discovered about six months ago, even though she has been working on this universe since 2013. She likes this universe because it seems to her that all the artists express different ankles of both childhood and pop culture together.
How she gets support
Even though these amazing artists are a great source of inspiration, Kitt has to admit the cliché of her husband Jesper being her greatest motivation and support.
“He is the biggest support in my work. He supports me completely about my crookedness and crazy thoughts that appears naturally in my work. He accepts the many and long working hours at the studio, especially in the days up to an exhibition. Besides him, I also experience a lot of support from my family and friends.”
Dreams and goals
Kitt Buch's great wish about her work is to be able to support herself entirely by making her artwork. But for now she looks forward to moving into a studio at an art gallery i KBH Kunst v/Helle Borre, in Central Copenhagen.
Go check out more of Kitt Buch’s work by clicking HERE!
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Kitt Buch is also very active on social media, both Facebook, Instagram and on her own website, where she updates frequently about her work, exhibitions and events that she takes part in.
