BIOGRAPHY
Lukas Prent (b. 1994, Munich, Germany) is a painter currently living and working in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His practice centres on figurative painting and explores social and political tensions, often revealing hidden conflicts beneath seemingly calm situations. Through recurring forms like sharp triangles, he subtly points to the impact of political forces on both society and nature. His work is informed by his experience of growing up in Germany and later living in Brazil, where his confrontation with questions of privilege, social inequality and racism is sharpened. Prent studied for three semesters at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Professor Katharina Wulff. In Rio de Janeiro, he has studied woodcut at the Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage with Júlio Castro and taken part in an art residency with Itinera Arte. He continues to attend courses on art and sociopolitical issues to deepen the conceptual foundations of his practice.
PROJECT TITLE
Fragmented Society
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
"Fragmented Reality" explores a society torn between its proclaimed values such as equality, tolerance, and democracy, and the everyday discriminations and inequalities embedded in its structures. This fragmentation arises from a deep contradiction between a society's self-image and the deeply rooted inequalities within its institutions and daily interactions.Guided by the conviction that art functions as a mirror of society and that it can provoke meaningful discourse, this project aims to make this discrepancy visible and discussable. Many people profess values like justice and respect, yet in international political contexts and daily life, these principles are often set aside.
A deep-seated disgust for these social contradictions has always guided me. I observe that many people in Germany wish to discuss and learn about equality and justice only on a superficial level, because the genuine implementation of these values is incompatible with maintaining the same privileges many people in Germany live. Upon perceiving this cultural disinterest in political discussions and reflections from an early age, I understood that I needed to seek growth and learning in other parts of the world. In my early twenties, I moved to Brazil, where social inequalities and societal fragmentations are far more visible than in the German context, but where there is, at least, more disposition for political discourse.
Through figurative painting and accompanying written descriptions, I interrogate these societal structures. Figures in motion, sharp triangles, and visible tensions become visual metaphors for this fragmentation: stretched bodies with gestures that oscillate between calmness and threat. My artistic approach embraces the necessity of reflecting uncomfortable truths, seeking to expose the tensions and conflicts arising from the often contradictory expectations most people face in their everyday lives.
Alongside my painting practice, I attend political art courses, participate in mentorship programs, and deepen my knowledge of the mechanisms of inequality. These references nourish my work and sharpen my ability to articulate how systemic injustices persist even within spaces that claim to be progressive or neutral. "Fragmented Reality" creates images that not only make the gap between what our society claims to be and what it actually does and says visible, but also fertile ground for dialogue.