Strong, clean lines and cubist inspired characters in vivid colors have long been the main signifiers of Berlin based artist James Reka’s, aka Reka’s, paintings. His previous works, featured here on our blog, depict geometrical figures but the choice of colors, the backgrounds, and the style have dramatically changed over the past few years. His graffiti background is becoming less evident as Reka is increasingly interested in abstraction, and his new work may be his most enigmatic.
The ten large scale paintings that he made for his solo show “Mirage” at the Galerie Mathgoth, in Paris, depict mostly feminine creatures, embraced by a geometrical and abstract scenario. In addition to his pieces on canvas, Reka has painted new pieces using aerosol cans and transformed his tools into pieces of art in their own right. In the land of Marcel Duchamp, who once said that pieces of art weren’t really pieces of art, James Reka is building a mirage: “Is this an old can? Is this art?” Like seeing a mirage, these pieces get you wondering “Is that a girl? Are those flowers? What is going on?” The answer to those questions may also come as a question: “What is it that you want to see?” James Reka’s Mirage” will be on view from April 30 until 21 may 2016.
Berlin, Germany based artist 
Brooklyn based painter 
French based artist duo