A beautiful work of art the first time you try is the promise you get when acquiring a paint by number. As a novice painter by number, your only requirement is to follow a specific method: filling a grid composed of different zones defined by numbers corresponding to a specific color palette.

Could this seemingly stubborn and uncreative activity of paint by number be labelled a form of ‘art’? If not then, could it be a ‘craft’? Are there any opportunities within this process for some free-minded, creative gestures? In that case, could a painter by number claim a certain authorship over his ‘piece’? One sure thing is that the status and the motivations of a painter by number are ambiguous, and that the idea of self-expression within this specific field is debatable.

Paint by number conceptually deals with the virtuality and potentiality of a work rather than the work as an outcome. The grid of the work is there, waiting to be filled. This grid raises questions of legibility and recognition of an image. A painting by numbers underlines how colors, but also simplification of shapes play part in the perception and reproduction of iconic, identifiable images.

The Paint by Number Museum is an installation which is the result of an investigation and speculations within this field. Its intention is also to stress the possibility of subversive painting by numbers practices. It is a negotiation between ‘authentic’ objects of documentation and fictional artefacts.

This project is supported by the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie.

This event is a part of the Off Programme – open space devoted to workshops, interventions, and other presentations and activities related to graphic design. The authors are solely responsible for the nature of this event. The program is subject to change.