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David Umemoto about Escher
16 November 2019

David Umemoto about Escher

Last Thursday the new exhibition David Umemoto: Architect of the Impossible opened in Escher in The Palace. David Umemoto is a Canadian sculptor with a background in architecture. His mysterious sculptures of impossible buildings are exhibited side by side with the work of M.C. Escher until 9 February 2020. The printmaker has been an inspiration throughout Umemoto’s career:

David Umemoto

David Umemoto

'I was first exposed to Escher's work about 17-18 years ago. With a team of architects and designers, we were working for the Cirque du Soleil on new conceptual Entertainment-Hospitality projects. The idea was to create a place with a unique architecture where the visitor would "cross the mirror" and experience an out of this world immersive experience. That was before the virtual reality and all the techno-tricks we have now, so it would have been all incorporated in the architecture. Of course, Escher was among the top inspirations.'

David Umemoto, Gateway 2, 2019, Modern Shapes Gallery

David Umemoto, Gateway 2, 2019, Modern Shapes Gallery

M.C. Escher, Porta Maria dell’Ospidale, Ravello (Old Church, Ravello), wood engraving, 1932

M.C. Escher, Porta Maria dell’Ospidale, Ravello (Old Church, Ravello), wood engraving, 1932

'Most recently, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) and Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) were added to my personal list of major influences. I think one important common element that I find inspiring in Escher, Piranesi and Chirico's works is the distortion of space resulting in abstract or impossible architectures. Of course architecture is also very present in their work, as in mine.'

David Umemoto, Stairway 5, 2019, Modern Shapes Gallery

David Umemoto, Stairway 5, 2019, Modern Shapes Gallery

M.C. Escher, Other World, wood engraving and woodcut in black, reddish brown and green, printed from three blocks, January 1947

M.C. Escher, Other World, wood engraving and woodcut in black, reddish brown and green, printed from three blocks, January 1947

'My process is very iterative and intuitive. I generally have an idea when I start a new piece, but most of the time it ends up totally different from the original thought. I think Escher's influence is something dormant that was incepted in my subconscious a long time ago, that I mostly forgot about but that is still present and is distilled in my work here and there without me thinking about it.'

David Umemoto, Stairway 12, 2019, Modern Shapes Gallery

David Umemoto, Stairway 12, 2019, Modern Shapes Gallery

M.C. Escher, Relativity, lithograph, July 1953

M.C. Escher, Relativity, lithograph, July 1953

Judith Kadee

Judith Kadee

Curator

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More Escher today

Saint Nicholas’ Church, Ghent

Saint Nicholas’ Church, Ghent

Maurits, Jetta and their two sons spent July and August of 1934 in the artists’ village of Saint-Idesbald. The village is home to several museums, including that of the world-famous surrealist painter Paul Delvaux. Escher had rented a house there, together with his brother Eddy and sister-in-law Irma. During that holiday, Escher and Jetta visited Ghent, Bruges and Tournai. That same holiday Escher created a woodcut of the cathedrals of Ghent and Tournai.
Eye

Eye

Between 1946 and 1951 Escher experimented several times with the mezzotint technique. He was fascinated by the extremely subtle gradiations of light and dark that can be achieved in it. Even before the war, he made the first plans for creating his own works. He wasn't proficient in this technique and he sought advice from fellow artists such as Jan Poortenaar and W.G. Hofker on how to handle it. Dusk (Rome), from May 1946, is his first mezzotint and Plane Filling I, from March 1951, his last. It stopped at a total of 8 mezzotints. Although he was a patient man, the technique turned out to be too laborious and time-consuming for Escher. The most striking print of the series is Eye.
The OMG moment of Waterfall

The OMG moment of Waterfall

‘The fascinating OMG moment.’ This is how, in an edition of VPRO radio show OVT (see below, Dutch only), former curator Micky Piller describes the moment in which a viewer takes a second look at Escher’s lithograph Waterfall for the second time. At first glance, we see water cascading down from a raised platform. It looks straightforward enough. But on closer inspection the viewer experiences the OMG moment, when the brain cannot make sense of what the eyes are telling it. The water is flowing upwards. Upwards?! Waterfall is the work in which Escher deceives his viewers in the most direct way.