The Materiality of Memory

Eindhoven, 1953. The origins of Piet Dirkx are rooted in a landscape of industry and personal habit. A lifelong smoker, Dirkx finds his primary medium in the discarded remnants of a daily ritual: the cigar box. He turns the back of these boxes into a canvas, using the surface as a site for spontaneous notation. Grocery lists, fleeting observations, and sudden impressions are scribbled in ballpoint pen, forming the skeletal structure for his color explorations. These markings are not merely notes; they are the foundation for a deep, physical investigation into the nature of sight and pigment.

He works with wax mixed with pure pigments, a technique that grants his surfaces a heavy, saturated intensity. The colors do not sit on the surface; they seem to inhabit it. By utilizing encaustic and other tactile materials like iron, glass, and wood, he transforms humble objects into something else entirely. These works often exist in clusters, arranged on walls, leaning against surfaces, or scattered across floors. He calls these arrangements wandwerken, or wall works, emphasizing that the spatial relationship between the objects is as vital as the objects themselves.

Technical Explorations

The physical presence of a Dirkx work is defined by its specific, often unconventional, material composition. He moves between the delicate and the industrial, often blurring the line between painting and sculpture. His process involves a constant dialogue between the written word and the visual stain.

• Encaustic and wax mixed with pure pigments
• Iron and painted wood
• Watercolor and ballpoint pen on cigar boxes
• Glass and various wood types

Spatial Arrangements and Collections

The work of Dirkx resists the traditional frame. His pieces are often small, modular, and part of a larger, non-hierarchical ensemble. This approach challenges the viewer to see the work as a component of a specific environment rather than an isolated object. His practice has been recognized through presence in significant institutions, including the Van Abbemuseum and the Rijksmuseum Twenthe. In 1999, his work took on a civic dimension through the creation of 20 medallions, which were transferred to the Municipality of Eindhoven.

His exhibitions have spanned from the Kunstmuseum Den Haag to various galleries in Rotterdam and Antwerp. Whether working with the heavy density of encaustic or the lightness of watercolor, the focus remains on how color and form occupy a room. He treats the space around the work as an active participant in the visual experience, creating a tension between the small scale of the individual box and the expansive reach of the installation.