Just as Dutch painter Joram Roukes moves freely between precise, anatomically-correct figure painting and messy expressionism, his work injects allusions to contemporary society with heavy doses of dreamlike images. We might find a character in a familiar Lakers jersey, except for his hand invitingly holds out a dead fish and his face is a polka-dotted skull. It is precisely this type of fluidity between lived and imagined experience that Roukes aims to tap into with his July 19 solo show at Thinkspace in Culver City, “Paramnesia.” Its title is derived from the term for a condition in which a person confuses reality and fantasy, something most of us have experienced to an extent with cases of déjà vu. Roukes has been living and working in LA as he prepares for his show. Take a look at some photos and a video documenting his work process below.
Work in progress.