vantage by aakash nihalani at wunderkammern in rome

field (orange), 2014, acrylic, flashe, mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, magnets, 45.5 x 38.5″

vantage by aakash nihalani at wunderkammern showcases new works including site-specific installations at the gallery, and various permanent and temporary urban installations around rome. ‘vantage’ is a privileged point of view on a specific vision of reality, in a constant crash-encounter between the physical and cerebral dimensions of existence. the show, which opened on april 5th will run until 17 may 2014.

‘most artists use a canvas in order to paint on a limited surface. like a painter I start with the canvas, but I also explore the ways to sculpt and paint around it, using it as a visual object in and of itself. these paintings, like the majority of my work, are created with a specific point of view – a frontal one – where the illusion exists and the shapes seem to come to life.’ – aakash nihalani

fields (green), 2014, acrylic, flashe, and mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, magnets, 33.25 x 52.5″

text from wunderkammern:

in the gallery, the artist will work with the architecture of the internal space just as he does in the urban space with relation to that which already exists. in this new series of works, nihalani treats the ‘architecture’ of the gallery like the architecture of the city. just as in [his] exterior works, created in relation to things in the existing surroundings, these paintings utilize the same approach: placing blank canvases on a wall in order to create a temporary architecture with which [he] can interact. the canvases are left white, matching the color of the gallery, and become an extension of the wall. by giving the canvas a formal role in the composition, the white achieves a certain fullness and loses its ‘blankness’. the process is sculptural and additive, but the approach to the canvas is similar to that of painting, and fills the void between paintings, sculptures, and [his] interactive installations with adhesive tape.

vantage is a part of the larger project public & confidential, which involves five of the most important street artists on the international scene. after dan witz, rero and agostino iacurci, it is aakash nihalani’s turn, followed by jef aérosol, who will close the series – more »

fields (blue), 2014, acrylic, flashe, and mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, magnets, 33 x 62″

field (pink), 2014, acrylic, flashe, and mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, magnets, 40 x 44.5″

detail of field (pink), 2014

field (yellow), 2014, acrylic, flashe, and mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, magnets, 32.5 x 20″

field (blue), 2014, acrylic, flashe, and mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, magnets, 38.75 x 38.75″

island (pink), 2014, acrylic, flashe, and mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, 36 x 36″

island (green), 2014, acrylic, flashe, and mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, 36 x 36″
island (blue), 2014, acrylic, flashe, and mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, 24 x 24″

island (yellow), 2014, acrylic, flashe, and mixed media on canvas, corrugated plastic, wood, 24 x 24″

spaced, 2014, tape and paint (installation at wunderkammern)

passage, 2014, tape, corrugated plastic, flashe (installation at wunderkammern)

hug, 2014, tape, corrugated plastic and flashe (rome)

spaced, 2014, paint (rome)

designboom interview with aakash nihalani

‘my biggest influence has been the city’s architecture itself.  the colors and tones everywhere are mostly neutral, so using bright colors allows me to really highlight and set apart the architecture that’s most interesting to me, kind of like a highlighter.  plus the fluorescent palette I use doesn’t really exist in nature, just like the man-made concrete structures of the city.’

‘I also was really into magic tricks as a kid, and optical illusions, so I’m sure that’s still embedded in the way I approach things, manipulating positive and negative space to create an alternative vision of our urban landscape.’  – aakash nihalani

read the full interview »