Houses stacked on top of one another, wedged together, sprawling up the hillside with no plan and no architect: Brazil’s favelas follow no order, and yet they give rise to a structure that is entirely their own, and very much alive.
Architecture as an Organic Process
Inspired by his travels through Latin America, and in particular by his visits to Brazil’s favelas, Arno Beck explores architecture as an organic process. In his paintings, he creates a new spatiality: architectural landscapes that are not planned but grow, even proliferate, absurd and without function. In doing so, he draws, among other things, on a visual vocabulary he has acquired through his artistic work in public space, in empty factory halls and on industrial wasteland.
Three Phases
Arno Beck uses a wide range of techniques and materials in his working process. Graphic elements, photography and print meet drawing and gestural structures. Spray paint, acrylic, oil, ink, collage and print combine on canvas, paper and wood. The exhibition presents three phases of his engagement with the theme: first, linocuts based on photographic compositions; then the combination of these linoprints with painting, collage and drawing; and finally, the dissolution of concrete structures. For Arno Beck, this last step is the essence and logical consequence of his working process.
About the Artist
Arno Beck was born in Bonn in 1985. Since 2006, he has been studying at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, under Markus Lüpertz, Reinhold Braun and Eberhard Havekost, among others. Vertical Ghetto is his first solo exhibition.
“Vertical Ghetto”
Arno Beck
Opening
Friday, 27 August 2010
Exhibition
27 August – 17 September 2010
Pretty Portal
Brunnenstraße 12
40223 Düsseldorf
Note (2026): Arno Beck graduated in 2015 as a master student (Meisterschüler) of Eberhard Havekost. He has since gained international recognition for works that translate digital imagery into analogue techniques, above all his typewritten drawings. His work has been shown at Nino Mier Gallery in Los Angeles and Joshua Liner Gallery in New York, among others, and his first monograph was published by Hatje Cantz in 2021.
