INBOX: George Smits. Episode 2: MAFprint experimentele zeefdrukken & affiches / Underground comics 'De verhalen van Jan' / Super 8 films 'The Colour Company Presents' / Schilderijen
©Courtesy of the Estate George Smits, Antwerp
In 1975 George Smits turns aways from pop and happenings and focuses on painting. Smits is looking for a more sober communication between artist and viewer. In contrast to trend at the time.
Smits continues to paint and make sound installations till his death. Style, colours and format evolve, but he remains true to the painting techniques of the Old Flemish Masters. He experiments with age-old paint formulations and classical glazes.
The psychedelic MAFprint style replete with little figures created using écriture automatique and free association, now take shape in tempera and oils.
In 1975, George Smits turns his back on pop and happenings. He now focuses on painting, looking for a more subdued communication between artist and spectator – fully in contrast with the then dominant trend.
Until the end of his days, and parallel to his sound projects, he continues to paint. Style, colours and format will evolve, but Smits remains faithful to the painting techniques that brought the old Flemish masters eternal fame. He experiments with their centuries proven paint recipes and classic glazing techniques.
The psychedelic MAFprint style, with plenty of little figures, that emerged from automatic writing and free association, is now taking shape in tempera and oil painting.
Notes from George Smits's log, published in George Smits – MAFprint, catalogue of the exhibition in de Warande, Turnhout (BE), 1981 :
'If there's egg in the paint, the brush's marten will smell chicken. It gave him goosebumps.' [The Dutch expression literally translates as: 'It gave him chicken skin.']
'The still life. Seeing now: arrived at oil painting to be able to represent deep colours of projected light. So: study of oil painting technique. And those Old Masters (when I stop being a Young Artist, I'll become myself an Old Master) then say that those pure strong layers of glaze on top of each other are glassy, vulgar, fragile; that they make impossible the “ton local” et cetera. So, what now? Therefore: doing those deep thingies in screen print, because there, there are no Old Masters yet. With acrylic, these latter can be circumvented too. Oil knowledge, when it's complete, can then be transferred to acrylic. For later.'
'The painting likes literary shoes best.'