Paul Painting - Phantasmagoria - Showing at Salon91

‘Paul Painting ( b1974-)  studied graphic design at the Technikon of Witwatersrand between 1993-95. Finding that commercial art satisfied little of his creative motives, Painting went on to balance his passion for traditional painting techniques with his fascination for filmmaking. Though the two mediums remain quite discrete in his production, there is an undeniable exchange of ideas between them. His preoccupations centre around the inner self, expressed through a syntax of deeply personalized symbols and ambiguous constructions, while remaining largely figurative and accessible. Painting has held a number of successful solo exhibitions and participated widely in group shows around the country. His current body of etches, form the basis of his solo exhibition “Phantasmagoria” at Salon91  in Cape Town, and also represent a new development and direction in his output …

‘PHANTASMAGORIA’

"It is unsurprising that my choice of subject matter and handling should so embrace the macabre and fantastical work of Francisco de Goya, whose 'Caprichos' cycle represents my initial fascination with the venerable medium of etching. The power and depth of his plates affect me tremendously and I find myself returning to his work time and again, and, in my opinion, demonstrate the height of the type of expressive potential allowed by the medium. His towering example has inspired me to attempt to apprehend some measure of that same richness of subject and breadth of handling, while remaining true to my own obsessions and pre-occupations, and the set of personalized symbols that articulate them.

My current work reflects an exhaustive overhauling of banks of imagery obsessively collected and hoarded over the years, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. An attraction toward the grotesque and enigmatic, qualifies the work, and reflects a series of personalized and equivocal responses to the ghosts of memory and desire (in all their ambiguities), notions of individuality and alienation, and a penchant for the offbeat and the bizarre. Their dark and often moody narratives are counteracted by a sense of wry humour, wherein anthropomorphic taxidermy apes square off against burlesque wrestlers, vicious criminals rub shoulders with ersatz dinosaurs: in a phantasmagoria of ill starred misfits." – PAUL PAINTING 2011 –