Exploring the reality of “distorted or inaccessible memories,” Eliana Marinari applies several layers of aerosol acrylic paint over ink and pastel drawings. In the artist’s “Recognition Memory” and “Recollection” series, portraits and still-life works are given this treatment, respectively. The resulting work is both haunting and brings reflection on our own limitations, as viewers.
On the former series, Marinari says this: “These hazy portraits challenge the viewer, as the process of face recognition becomes more difficult, semantic associations become more important. Neurons involved in face recognition are in close contact with neurons responsible to encode concepts, which respond in a very abstract way to faces. That’s how our brain goes from a perception-driven representation of face features to a memory-driven representation of concepts: meaning is attributed to each feature and qualities such as gender, identity, and appearance are translated on assumptions based on previous experiences, cultural beliefs and values.”
See more of this work below.
Alvin Ong's oil paintings, depicting decadence and nondiscriminatory consumption, crackle with energy. These works, following a tradition in art history of examining these themes, move between eroticism and aggression. The Singaporean artist offered this most recent body of work as "Supper Club" earlier this year.
Peter Saul
Painter Peter Ferguson returns to Roq La Rue Gallery with "Skip Forward When Held," bringing his sensibility that blends notes of the Dutch Renaissance, Lovecraftian creatures, and more. The show, running through January 25 at the space, brings new oil paintings to the space. Ferguson was last featured on our site