The Sleepers, 2020, Oil on Canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Sikemma Jenkins & Co.
Brooklyn based artist Louis Fratino presents his second solo show at Sikemma Jenkins & Co., Morning. The critically acclaimed show exhibits Fratino’s most recent work, a series of twenty oil paintings of different sizes, all with a myriad of color palettes but with a consistency in style that takes us back to 20th century Cubism with an undeniable presence of a 21st century context.
July, 2020, Oil on Canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Sikemma Jenkins & Co.
Fratino’s consistent pictorial style causes the viewer to feel they are inserted in a new reality, where through composition, things fit effortlessly together, where the composition takes over and crowds the canvas space. Fratino shows great courage in his creations as he explores the human figure, the daily and the mundane, and turns them into poems of color and love. The viewer is lured in to see the paintings from afar to admire the artist’s composition styles, and then up close where they get lost in the dialogue of details, strong lines and varied color palettes.
Richardson Street, Living Room, 2020, Oil on Canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Sikemma Jenkins & Co.
Through a fascination with lighting, the artist explores the human figure, still lives, and quotidian activities associated with a given time of day. Waking Up First, Hard Morning Light, 2020, Richardson Street Living Room, 2020, and July, 2020 illustrate the artist’s interest in how light behaves when it hits interior spaces, and how it bends and fades once new elements are inserted in the scenes of composition.
Waking Up First, Hard Morning Light, 2020, Courtesy of the artist and Sikemma Jenkins & Co.
On the other hand the viewer can’t help but be mesmerised at the illustrative line usage to explore the feeling and sensuality of the human body. Sleeping on Your Roof in August, 2020 and The Sleepers, 2020 contain similar narratives where despite the absence of natural light, the works contain a myriad of colors which suggest movement in its rawest, most human form. The artist’s ability to explore feeling, ties the series of paintings together to create an environment of introspection and connection with the self.
Fish Market, 2020, Oil on Canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Sikemma Jenkins & Co.
The still lives presented in the exhibition place the viewer face to face with elements of everyday life in such a way that it becomes clear that there is poetry all around us, and that it’s the job of artists to remind us of the fact. Fish Market, 2020, Tom in Albisola, 2020, Among Women Only, 2020, Polaroids on the Kitchen Counter, 2020, Pinewood Table, 2020, and May, 2020 depict spaces that ignore methodical techniques of space and depth. Yet, they present the viewer with such a perspective, that one can’t help but become mesmerised with their form, and is left hungry for more.
Polaroids on the Kitchen Counter, 2020, Oil on Canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Sikemma Jenkins & Co.
The exhibition is open by exhibition only, and will run through November 3rd. Make sure to reserve your appointment before visiting the space, and visit Sikemma Jenkins & Co. website for more information.
Among Women Only, 2020, Oil on Canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Sikemma Jenkins & Co.
View of Monte Cristo, 2020, Oil on Canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Sikemma Jenkins & Co.
Sleeping on Your Roof in August, 2020, Oil on Canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Sikemma Jenkins & Co.