3D pavement artist heading to SA

Kurt Wenner will be arriving in SA this month for the launch of the Hyundai Veloster campaign.

Wenner’s take on interactive street art has made him one of the most celebrated artists in the world. After travelling extensively through Europe studying classical drawings and sculptures, he invented his own new art form known as 3D pavement art.

“The three-dimensional street painting is my own invention. I created it in 1984 by studying a type of anamorphism [a distorted projection or perspective] that existed in the 17th century. My own geometry is different from the 17^th-century works and I have not published it. It combines a logical use of linear perspective with a projection outward from the human eye,” explains Wenner.

His pieces have been praised by other artists and have a cult following within the art community. His most well-known work is called Dies Rae, an illusion of soaring architecture and floating figures in ceiling frescoes.

From the beginning of his art career, Wenner always considered street painting illusions to be a new form of art. It was through his studies and travels that he was then able to find a way to launch this new form of art.

“I linked the artistic and classical imagery I was studying to the contemporary world using perspective and photography. What makes it fascinating is the ability to insert an imaginary scene into a contemporary environment and involve the public in the image,” he says. 

Wenner’s art has seen him win dozens of gold medals in European competitions. He was also featured as the subject of National Geographic‘s award-winning documentary Masterpieces in Chalk.

After a successful career in the UK he moved back to the United States where he started lecturing art at corporate events and conducting seminars for organisations, including the Smithsonian Institution, Disney, Toyota and General Motors.

Now he is heading to South Africa to team up with Hyundai for the launch of the Veloster model. “With the Veloster, Hyundai has proposed a vehicle that has rather original features. The company has underlined this approach with campaigns that are also highly original. I think that my work will create curiosity about the Veloster and prompt the public to engage with it,” he explains.

The famous artist is excited to get a taste of South Africa and, most of all, engaging with people. “I look forward to seeing different cities and having a little extra time to get to know the country. I will also be able to interact with the public to a great extent,” says Wenner.