The Gugging artist Johann Korec died in the night of July 25 in the House of Artist, amongst his friends and colleagues. Johann Korec started to draw under Dr. Leo Navratil in the late 1950s. In the beginning he used to trace patterns from newspapers and magazines, preferring naked woman and erotic scenes. Over the years he lost interest in copying pictures and created his own motifs. Korec usually worked on hand-made paper of various formats, using ink and watercolours. In the upper half he represented a scene in ink. In the lower part he commented on the scene above, noting the place of action and the actors. The protagonist was always himself. He finally painted over the ink drawing in the upper part, using watercolours, which invariably and beautifully flowed into each other.

Johann Korec drew on the large table in the Artists’ Gallery. His utensils could easily be recognised. Quills, which he used only a few times, would already be warped and useless for fine lines. Paintbrushes often had only two or three bristles left. He also liked to produce canvases in the room next to the gallery. Korec was capable of transposing his small pictures into larger formats – preferably with gloves on, since he hated it when the acrylic paint which he had thinned down too much ran back off the paintbrush onto his fingers.

When Korec was not drawing, he mostly sat under one of his canvases right opposite the entrance, so visitors would normally be greeted by him first. He gave women priority.

Dieter De Vlieghere