Painters Illustrate Pleasure Of Leisure

In a high temperature city, such as Miami where sun is bright and pace is slower, idyllic moments are tempting, luring us to slow down and enjoy the pleasure of doing nothing, which comes at price and guilt of “un-productivity.” The choice one makes to immerse themselves into taking time off is a gift and evil, imposing the dilemma of taking part in work or laziness. Poolsides, couches, parks, and beds invite us to detach from productivity; however, laziness has its own aesthetics, too. Painters in this year’s UNTITLED approach the sweet pleasure of leisure with humorous, transforming moments of repose into juxtapositions of intimacy and self-care.

Placer, Kira Piriz, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 60 cms. (Aninat Gallery)

Put your shades on Johnny (and hold me tight), Audun Alvestad , 2019, Acrylic on Canvas, 150 x 120 cm (Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery)

Chilean Aninat Gallery presents thirty-two years old Kira Piriz, whose paintings of deadpan figures caught in fleeting moments of everyday humdrum blur the line between intimacy and voyeurism, placing the viewer into a voyeuristic position about witnessing others’ idyllic moments of joy and leisure. In Placer, a figure — potentially a man — absorbs the piercing sun, their eyes closed, in that lazy moment between sleep and consciousness; Neukolln Sommer freezes a moment that precedes the big splash, catching a man floating in air a second before plunging into a pool; and Do you remember that day is densely-painted moment of summertime festive, showing five boys — all potentially nude — swimming, and relaxing their tan-lined bodies.

London gallery Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery dedicates a solo booth to Norwegian artist Audun Alvestad, whose pastel-colored scenes depict figures unabashedly taking advantage of what life has to offer. They are men and women, semi or completely nude, socializing and cohabiting in backyards, pools, forests and pools, posing akin to figures of a comic book or cartoon. The mundanity of the figures’ actions and their gesture’s subdued humor further the celebration of leisurely time and choice to do nothing. Another solo presentation of slowed-down times is at the booth of Moskowitz Bayse, where New York painter Eleanor Swordy orchestras a captivating visual lexicon — her bulky figures lounge, chill, and unwind. The artist’s signature style combines voluminous limps with geometric touches, elevating the playfulness of her subjects’ unapologetically indulgent moments of a poolside chat in This Is Now or a make-up session in For You. Iranian painter Orkideh Torabi’s fabric dye painting on stretched cotton illustrate two men with exaggerated features and mocking grins, lounging over a tapestry with patterns as intricate as their attires. They carry stereotypical attributes of Middle Eastern men and radiate a carefree and somewhat aloof ease between posing as off-putting or satirical. The painter’s illustration of manhood and masculine energy comes in pastel tones of pink, green and yellow as well as subtle questions about the politics of leisurely time and right to do nothing.

- Osman Can Yerebakan

On Tuesday, Osman Can Yerebakan recorded an episode of the UNTITLED, ART Podcast on site with Galerie Magazine's Art and Culture Editor, Lucy Rees. Listen here.