The White of the Sheet

For me, the white of the sheet is not a ground for painting. It is given.

I do not begin my work on an empty surface, but with a situation that already exists. This is also why I do not prime canvases myself. When I work on canvas, I use one that is already primed—not because white has a particular meaning, but because it precedes my first decision.

What matters is not the white. What matters is what is given. If someone gave me a red sheet, that red too would initially be given. I would not have to choose it. It would already belong to the conditions under which the work begins.

With the first trace, this given space changes. Color, material, white, and perception enter into relation. None remains unchanged. The sheet is therefore not a surface to be filled, but a space altered by every trace.

I do not begin with an idea. I begin with a situation. Perhaps it is precisely there that the openness my work seeks can emerge.