Iskander Ilz

Each work is created using a single, uncommon tool selected for one time use only. This tool functions as a weapon of choice, not for control or mastery, but for its limitations. Tools are often found, foraged, or thrift shopped, including twigs, flowers, leaves, dried plant material, or other irregular objects gathered from natural or everyday environments.

The weapon is accepted without modification and allowed to dictate the conditions of the work. Weight, surface, fragility, and resistance shape the marks and forms that emerge. Control is present, but limited. Chance is not introduced as effect, but as consequence.

The paintings resist representation and narrative. Color and form are constructed through restriction rather than intuition, allowing irregularity, interruption, and imbalance to remain visible. Each work stands independently, while the weapon used holds relevance only to the painting it produced.

The practice positions painting as an encounter between intention and material limitation, where simplicity functions as discipline and unpredictability is integral to the outcome.