Marie-Madeleine

For twenty years, Alain Schank has multiplied pictorial experiments in various large series of abstractions addressing several themes such as gesture, material and chance. They earned him the right to be exhibited internationally and to be enrolled in several Belgian galleries. These commercial relationships, frequently flourishing, sometimes offered him the sparkle of the Holy Grail of artists: to live off his art. However, he was often forced by gallery owners to multiply formats, decline colors and shades, favor one or another effect to meet the (a)varied “tastes” of wealthy clients. This attitude towards artists is still very present nowadays in professional and amateur art galleries, often accompanied by an inequitable distribution of profits from sales. 

Time passes by and the shell cracks. Relationships become more and more painful. The desire is no longer there. Upheavals are disappointing. He thinks of giving all up. But as the saying goes: “The burning will not take place! “. 

As of now, Alain Schank will paint for himself, as an outsider. From the accumulated frustrations was born a monster, his alias Snach-Ka who accompanied him secretly in the margins of his work for years. He is figurative, free, uninhibited, disinterested and respects nothing but the moment. Alain Schank’s introspection by Snach-Ka is bulimic. His crazy characters scream at us with their debauchery, bordering on aggression. Words, in all languages, and collages come to light. In front of this, there are few apathetic viewers. 

In the window, disorder thickens even more. The installation is obviously not that of a painter. We are immersed into a truly real universe, with carefully chosen details, the beginning of a story inspired by the meeting between the (past) life of the neighborhood and the life of the artist. The elements of the decor are precisely arranged and invite the viewer to imagine the rest of the story.