Kacper 'Soumne' Zagdan

Paint meets sound in unexpected ways when you encounter Soumne's work. The Polish artist Kacper Zagdan operates under this pseudonym, creating chromatic abstractions that exist somewhere between visual chaos and deliberate restraint. His canvases refuse to represent anything concrete, instead offering organic compositions that speak their own language.

The work draws heavily from postmodern painting traditions. You can trace lines back to Jackson Pollock's action painting and the gestural freedom of experimental actionists. At the same time, there's matter painting and the expressive territories of Art Informel woven into the approach. Soumne doesn't simply copy these movements. He uses them as a starting point for his own technological experiments and gestural freedom. What makes his practice distinct is the conscious limitation. While the paintings appear spontaneous and even accidental, they're actually the result of careful selection. Colors get chosen with precision. Tools get picked deliberately. Media gets curated thoughtfully. The resulting collection feels elegant and economical, yet it never loses that raw, expressive quality that makes abstract painting compelling.

The Process

Soumne's methodology breaks from classical painting in fundamental ways. Different tools enter the studio not as mere instruments but as collaborators in finding unconventional working methods. The process begins with sketch series where he hunts for visually interesting forms and arrangements that carry gestural expression within their elements.

The paintings operate on intuitive action. Each stroke and mark connects to sound compositions that Soumne creates separately. Controllers generate these audio pieces, and they enter into active dialogue with the painted works. The relationship isn't decorative. Sound and image inform each other, creating a cross-sensory experience where neither medium dominates.

The Work

These abstractions live in their own chromatic universe. Forms emerge and dissolve across the canvas surface. The matter itself becomes expressive, holding traces of the artist's physical engagement with materials. Layers build up through experimentation, revealing Soumne's ongoing investigation into what paint can do when pushed beyond traditional boundaries.

The collection presents a vision of abstract painting that's both contemporary and rooted in historical practice. It acknowledges its lineage while refusing to be bound by it. Each piece maintains that delicate balance between control and release, between thought and impulse, between silence and sound.