“That is kind of the main goal lately, that people will look at the painting and not think about me [the artist], they will think about their own life and there will be a connection there.”
Welcome to Mamamia’s art endeavour, the Voulez-Vous Project. Every week we celebrate emerging artists, designers, illustrators, creators and cats who dress like their owners (not joking). Our aim: to help the internet become a slightly more beautiful, captivating, or thought-provoking place by making art accessible.
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Kasper Raglus’s iconic minimalist-inspired paintings are not only unique, but are quickly gaining a loyal following.
Raglus grew up surrounded by the illustrations of his Dad, Jeff Raglus, a contemporary artist well known for his designs for Mambo, Swatch, Ansett Airlines and The Arena Theatre Company. Raglus credits his passion for painting to his Dad, and also to his childhood, growing up in Airey’s Inlet on the Victoria surf coast.
“I was really into graphic design when I was in high school and I think all those years of drawing logos instead of listening to the teacher have finally paid off in recent times. I’m really glad when I was growing up there were no mobile phones or internet, because if there was I don’t think I would have been drawing as much as I did.” Raglus explains.
Minimalism has also been an inspiration for Raglus, both for its simplicity, and also because of the multiple interpretations that it enables.
“I wanted to get to a point with my painting that I felt these things with my own work. Now I think with the minimalist approach it gives people space to think about their own lives within the painting.”
“That is kind of the main goal lately, that people will look at the painting and not think about me [the artist], they will think about their own life and there will be a connection there. That is my favourite thing about abstract and minimal art, when it is vague enough that it can mean anything to anyone in the world,” Raglus says.
Raglus has a unique approach to his paintings, in that he employs plywood as his canvas. He uses multiple mediums in his work, the textures of which give his paintings a distinctive aesthetic.
“I suppose oil paints will always win over acrylic but there are certain things you can do with acrylic that you can’t with oils. And acrylic is way faster to work with. But good quality oil paints are so amazing. I will never forget the first time I used really high quality oils. It was like rediscovering art all over… I think I will always be working with both acrylic and oils though.” Raglus says.
In between preparing for two upcoming shows for next year, Raglus is working on a few commission pieces for private buyers. See a few of his incredible paintings in the gallery below.
Kasper Raglus on Instagram
You can follow Kasper on Instagram here.
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Do you know an artist (or are YOU an artist) who creates beautiful or thought-provoking work and whom you think should be featured on Mamamia’s Voulez-Vous Project? Send an email to lizzie.marton@mamamia.com.au.