Jake Aikman | Proximity
13 Oct 2011 - 30 Nov 2011
The title of Jake Aikman’s third solo exhibition; Proximity is as ambiguous and mysterious as his atmospheric, meditative paintings. On one level, the artist deals with people’s proximity and connection to nature, whilst emphasizing the insignificance and vulnerability of the individual in relation to the overwhelming power and magnitude of our natural environment; forest, desert or ocean. Vulnerability, emptiness – vast open spaces – the subjects contained in or those standing in close Proximity to Aikman’s paintings are forced to reconsider and contemplate the ultimate solitude of their existence. Intensely conscious of modern-day environmental concerns, a sense of impending danger pervades. Aikman creates tension around the moment he has chosen to capture, the recent, the imminent, the immediate, as well as a tangible Proximity to that which lies beneath, beyond and hidden from view. Despite their monumentality and omniscience, the works are intimate, poetic and enticing as the viewer becomes part of the bigger picture. The relativity of perception and distance serves as a metaphor – the closer one gets to the object (or the truth), the more inaccessible or distant it becomes.
Proximity is Aikman’s third solo exhibition and a marked stylistic evolution is visible in his new body of work. Aikman subtly moves from his trademark crisp “sea paintings” to softer, hued and hazy compositions which serve to heighten intrigue and fascination with the already magnetic and spellbinding content. Aikman’s paintings traverse genre – moving beyond “pure” painting (despite his remarkable technical ability) – to become video-stills, photographs, allegories. The artist’s pictorial intelligence is the result of painstaking selectivity. Aikman carefully sifts through a variety of source material as diverse as; old movies, newspaper cuttings, the internet and photographs taken by himself in remote locations. The image is translated and embalmed with the artist’s personal vision and unmistakable touch.
Aikman’s patient, sensitive and thorough process make him one of the most interesting and sought-after contemporary artists in South Africa today. He has emerged as an entirely unique contemporary painter with a distinctive voice, reinforcing the notion that new painting always emerges from unexpected sources and cannot be pre-empted, predicted or simulated. Aikman’s work is timeless, whilst undeniably new.
Please contact the gallery for a portfolio of works.
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