House II 2015

Jarik Jongman made this painting, House II, using oil on canvas. The palette here is quite dark, almost noir-ish, with the bright architectural form emerging from the darkness of its surroundings, giving it a slightly menacing, cinematic feel. I'm drawn to the way the material quality of the paint handles the contrast between the artificial and the natural in the composition. Look at the thick strokes in the foreground, describing the foliage. Then notice how the house itself is painted with a much lighter touch. I love the way that the hard edges of the architecture are blurred by the artist’s gestural handling of the paint. I'm reminded of Ed Ruscha's paintings of buildings, or maybe even some of the architectural fantasies of Piranesi, but there's a painterly quality here which moves it into another realm of feeling and seeing. Ultimately, the painting lives in the process by which the artist allows these elements to come together.