William-Josh Beck

“Path towards an eclipse of the self and intentionality, sound as support for the bursting of the line leaves free the occurence of everything possible in the pictorial act. …This experience of creation as a meditative modality gives birth to a refined abstraction which presents itself as a raw trace, modulation of emptiness and fullness.”

William-Josh Beck is a contemporary artist working abstraction in ink on paper in resonance with sound, having been trained in Japan in an avant-garde pictorial and calligraphic approach. Following a long tradition of ink print artist, his practice is process driven, integrated with sounds and movement.

Drawing on the potential of his musical practice, his work is developed through a transmission of the energy of the sound flow in the brush stroke. In a variation on black and white, it is no longer a question of painting what is seen, but what is heard: capturing the trace of the sound rather than of the visible. This experience of creation as a meditative modality gives birth to a refined abstraction, both expressive and minimalistic, which presents itself as a modulation of emptiness and fullness.

Living and working in the heart of a preserved environment, between sea and forest, his practice is in harmony with this ecosystem through the use of natural materials: water, soot ink, charcoal, softwood or mulberry paper. The elements, air, water, earth and fire infuse his universe.