“In the process of creating, I usually incorporate unknowns from which a counterpart can suddenly emerge.”
Name
Felix Becker
Profession
Artist
Website
Who are you? What do you do?
I work in terms of painting, but this turns out not only on canvas, but also with installations, objects and sculptures.
Where are you from?
Born in Frankfurt, Germany. Currently living and working in Berlin, Germany
Your style in 3 words?
non-monochrome, layered, physical
Your weakness? Your strength?
I hardly allow myself any excuses, while I don’t want to impose much to others. It sucks, but keeps me going.
What makes you different?
In Berlin surely not the fact that I make art.
When did you decide to become an artist?
A lucky part of the many steps is certainly that I spent my childhood in a shared apartment, where also the artist Frank Lepold had his studio. He collected my drawings which made me a little proud and made me producing dozens at that time. So the idea of doing something artistic began to grow early, but first I had to go through lots of errors, like doing art part-time or some nonsense.
What do you find most fascinating about the creative process?
In the process of creating, I usually incorporate unknowns from which a counterpart can suddenly emerge. Some may call it coincidental, but in fact it’s a consistent check with the general concept I follow. Like Karl Otto Götz wrote: In Erwartung blitzschneller Wunder / In anticipation of lightning-fast miracles. It’s this mix between expectation and surprise.
A few words about your favourite creation?
The work that occupies me the most is always the one I am currently working on or have just worked on. At the moment it’s a wood sculpture that I’ve partially painted. I call it Klumpfuß / club foot.
Someone else’s work that inspired or inspires you…
To see „Suddenly This Overview“ (1981-2012) of Fischli and Weiss at the Venice Biennale in 2013 was kind of a relief for me. It finally broke all dogmas of narration and accessibility of contemporary art which were bothering me for a long time. Still I like art that aims the senses while speaking through one material, such as works of James Turrell or Pierre Soulages. But I also admire the ones which reach it by less, like the early works of El Anatsui or Cy Twombly’s sculptures, Akiko Mashima, Lee Bontecou, Herbert Zangs or some works of Blinky Palermo.
Who would you like to work with someday and why?
With Mika Rottenberg: I am absolutely fascinated by the maze of rooms and mechanics she uses for her films and would definitely help develop a set. And with Jonathan Meese to organize a rock-paper-scissor tournament.
A new project coming up or an idea you want to work on?
A colorful colonnade.
Finish the sentence „More important than my career is…“
being able to listen.
2020: Where are we going?
We stay on course for collective insanity and an ecological dead end. The consequences of the virus only increase social inequality and fuel the hunger for luxury and celebration in the affluent society.
When the going gets tough…
it could be a good time to read Thoreau.
Put on your future vision glasses: What direction is our generation moving in, what will our world look like in 50 years?
Many things will have changed, more will have stayed the same. With different people and different places. A problem will be water. I hope that we find ways to stay a bit longer on this planet.
What would you do if you could change the World?
Far more knowledge and empathy in all parts of the world would be of great help. But I am scared about the idea that one alone should do that.
If the universe is everything and it’s expanding, what is it expanding into?
Since Andrej Linde said our space is a bubble in an eternal foam of bubbles (multiverse), perhaps the whole thing ends up in a bathtub.
Tell us about your future plans…
I’m comfortable with not having any specific yet.
Your city’s favourite spots?
I like the many parks and the water. In Kreuzberg and Neukölln you can walk along the Landwehrkanal or enjoy all kinds of sports at Tempelhofer Feld. Or you take the train to one of hundreds of lakes. For dinner I love to go to Molinari at Solmsstraße.
Last but not least: what is your favourite Song?
There isn’t really a favorite song for me. Most of the time I listen to Kyuss or Farflung.
One last statement please: „Wood or stone, gold or art?“
Soap or pope? Cars or bars?
Your #…?
