Daniele Buetti
19 Mar - 14 May 2011
DANIELE BUETTI
19 March - 14 May, 2011
Galerie Nicola von Senger is pleased to present ‘Oh Boy Oh Boy’: a solo show with new works by Daniele Buetti, the latest instalment in an extensive series that began, and was first exhibited, in 2008.
The appearance and the richness in detail of the artworks, reminiscent of early mosaic art, stand at the centre of this exhibition as Buetti delights us, once again, with his sense of pictorial-aesthetic arrangements and his work’s enticing, feigned beauty.
As in the Swiss artist’s former pieces, the point of origin is photography and here Buetti references documentary images published worldwide and outside the system steered by mainstream media politics. The pictures he uses as a template for the works are specifically those of dismaying scenes of current political events.
Buetti abstracts these images; he erases them piece-by-piece. However, the familiar motifs that settled long ago in the collective memory remain. The resultant images exude a near-iconic expression; the utilised form of representation has an inherent sacral character. But with the artist’s careful extraction of the underlying motif elements, lines and contrasts, his use of composition and his sensitivity to a more classical, painterly form of expression Buetti has developed a new and self-contained pictorial representation. Physically these pictures are covered with an acrylic glass and worked on with a laser contour cut.
The attention to light plays, as usual, a central role in the works of the artist. He develops sources of colour and illumination in his pictures that condense the figurations, elevate them from the
background and push them into the pictorial foreground. A diffuse and at the same time highly luminous effect strengthens the mysterious atmosphere.
Their beautiful appearance enchants but it is deceptive. This rich ornamental art can easily alienate the viewer, as the motifs, which at first glance can be overlooked, are themselves deeply challenging.
Buetti’s works refuse to follow an exact definition, though the closely connected themes of power and its uses, religious belief and sexuality all play a central role. His works deal primarily with the photographic references of our time that cannot be aestheticised. He is interested in that which deviates from the norm and questions the underlying tensions of threatening perceptions and the reactions they cause. Like a veil, the colours and forms cover the actual core of the artist’s work. They appear to skilfully blind it whilst also initiating concern. In all, Buetti dislocates these manners of perception and provides a perfectly alluring trap for the viewer.
Judith Platte / Gareth Malone, February 2011
19 March - 14 May, 2011
Galerie Nicola von Senger is pleased to present ‘Oh Boy Oh Boy’: a solo show with new works by Daniele Buetti, the latest instalment in an extensive series that began, and was first exhibited, in 2008.
The appearance and the richness in detail of the artworks, reminiscent of early mosaic art, stand at the centre of this exhibition as Buetti delights us, once again, with his sense of pictorial-aesthetic arrangements and his work’s enticing, feigned beauty.
As in the Swiss artist’s former pieces, the point of origin is photography and here Buetti references documentary images published worldwide and outside the system steered by mainstream media politics. The pictures he uses as a template for the works are specifically those of dismaying scenes of current political events.
Buetti abstracts these images; he erases them piece-by-piece. However, the familiar motifs that settled long ago in the collective memory remain. The resultant images exude a near-iconic expression; the utilised form of representation has an inherent sacral character. But with the artist’s careful extraction of the underlying motif elements, lines and contrasts, his use of composition and his sensitivity to a more classical, painterly form of expression Buetti has developed a new and self-contained pictorial representation. Physically these pictures are covered with an acrylic glass and worked on with a laser contour cut.
The attention to light plays, as usual, a central role in the works of the artist. He develops sources of colour and illumination in his pictures that condense the figurations, elevate them from the
background and push them into the pictorial foreground. A diffuse and at the same time highly luminous effect strengthens the mysterious atmosphere.
Their beautiful appearance enchants but it is deceptive. This rich ornamental art can easily alienate the viewer, as the motifs, which at first glance can be overlooked, are themselves deeply challenging.
Buetti’s works refuse to follow an exact definition, though the closely connected themes of power and its uses, religious belief and sexuality all play a central role. His works deal primarily with the photographic references of our time that cannot be aestheticised. He is interested in that which deviates from the norm and questions the underlying tensions of threatening perceptions and the reactions they cause. Like a veil, the colours and forms cover the actual core of the artist’s work. They appear to skilfully blind it whilst also initiating concern. In all, Buetti dislocates these manners of perception and provides a perfectly alluring trap for the viewer.
Judith Platte / Gareth Malone, February 2011