acrylic, canvas, 140 × 130 cm

purchased 2022

The motif of the tire is characteristic for this artist. It is a symbol that cleverly reflects the semantics of today’s world — one choking on exhaust fumes and literally flooded with worn-out tires. The automobile is a key agent of logistics, but also of personal freedom. The tire is a product designed to be durable, yet its lifespan is short. This mix of properties results in massive accumulations of discarded tires in landfills, whose monumentality often evokes the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic film scene. The tire thus becomes a prime symbol of waste.

Sumec’s painting Winter Tires carries another dimension — not so much a critical one as rather a gently ironic commentary. It depicts a simple, familiar scene known to all motorists: a stack of tires piled up in a garage or cellar after the end of the winter season. Nothing more, nothing less. It is a straightforward imprint of real life, which — in its subconscious interpretive layers — may even allude to the cyclical nature of time in a bygone rural society.

Translation created with the assistance of AI (ChatGPT).