JAN KOKOL, PhD
(born 1978 S)

Jan Kokol, an Austrian based artist, combines modern technologies with his passion for historical paintings – for the purpose of pushing the Avantgarde movement by revealing new perspectives on photography.

Educated as an architect and designer he uses his computational knowledge and implements it into his photographic works. Additionally, his research about Uniqueness at the MIT and Harvard questions the limitless repetition in our digital age – contrary to the uniqueness of the handcrafted past. This aspect is clearly visible when observing his works.

Visually as aesthetically inspired by the portraits of the great Masters of the Dutch Golden Age, he adds the layer of futuristic design – by transforming the final output into a fresh new perception for the observer. Hereby intertwining the history with the future.

Imagine the portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit by Rembrandt van Rijn re-imagined in futuristic outfits. How would those portraits of the great Dutch Masters look today or even in the future?

By designing complex three-dimensional suits with parametric design software, he merges those with portraits of humans – the `Metahumans’ – deriving from gaming engines. The complexity of designing the suits is possible by `Parametricism’ – a specific design language that is controlled and tempered by parameters, deriving from the world of Architecture.

Modern technology enables the creation of a new photographic language. The process is animated by the contrast that informs the representation of reality, inspired by real humans that are ultimately revealed as surreal. In his opinion, if we constantly keep pushing the boundaries, while remaining the respect to the past, we will be rewarded with something fresh, something new.

This year Jan will showcase his latest intriguing series ´Belle Époque`, as an analogy to the nostalgic period of the late 19th century with its technical advancements, at the Haute Photographie 2024 in Rotterdam from the 1 – 4 February.

www.haute-photographie.com

Photo: Kahmann Gallery