Monday, November 27, 2023

In ‘Nature Mart,’ Geoff McFetridge Queries Human Responsibility and Connection Through Minimal Paintings

a silhouette of a person made out of smaller people

“Person Person” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 50 X 40 inches. All photos by Jessann Reece, courtesy of the artist and Cooper Cole, Toronto, shared with permission

Canadian artist Geoff McFetridge is known for his distinct aesthetic that privileges feeling over visuals, all conveyed through minimal shapes and clean lines. In his latest body of work titled Nature Mart, McFetridge takes on connection, empathy, fear, and exploitation as he explores what it means to be in a community.

Rendered in bold, flat panes of color, his acrylic paintings feature nondescript figures joining arms, hopping a fence, and haphazardly tucked head or foot first into a silhouette evocative of a Trojan horse. While some works, like “Group Hug,” portray people seamlessly joined as if fused together indefinitely, others show a separation as in the mirrored “Thruwall,” a piece that depicts two nearly identical figures approaching the wall that divides them. Many of the paintings ask what our responsibility as humans is to each other and the species we share this planet with, which McFetridge broaches through his unornamented visual language.

Nature Mart is on view through January 20 at Cooper Cole in Toronto. Find more from the artist on Instagram. (via Juxtapoz)

 

a woman touches a horse and they both have round, brain-like shapes on their heads

“Horse Brainz” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 30 x 26 inches

four people connect arms in a circle

“Group Hug” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 30 x 36 inches

a gray cat covers a person in a red shirt and blue pants

“Protected by Lion” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 50 X 40 inches

a horse figure made of people

“Horse That Jack Built 2” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 inches

two people climb over a pink fence

“Over Fence” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 50 X 50 inches

an abstract silhouette of a figure holding a yellow ball in their mouth

“Tennis!” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 50 x 40 inches

two people hold their hands to the same wall while on opposite sides

“Thruwall” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article In ‘Nature Mart,’ Geoff McFetridge Queries Human Responsibility and Connection Through Minimal Paintings appeared first on Colossal.



from Colossal https://ift.tt/ztwWSD9
via IFTTT

No comments:

Post a Comment

A Knotted Octopus Carved Directly into Two Pianos Entwines Maskull Lasserre’s New Musical Sculpture

“The Third Octave” (2023). All images © Maskull Lasserre, shared with permission Behind the hammers and pins of most upright pianos is a ...