Civilization and the natural world are set at odds with one another in a series of paintings by Danish-born Eske Kath for his second solo show, titled “Arena.” The man-made world, symbolized by the repeated motif of starkly rendered Monopoly-esque homes in hyper-saturated hues, are shown haphazardly stacked, sinking into the earth, or even floating against the black abyss of outer space. The floors of the gallery are painted with lines suggesting the latitude and longitude lines on a globe tying the viewer into the dialogue between these two forces.
Throughout the exhibition, the sharp geometry and bright colors of the simplified houses exist in contrast to the curvilinear lines and earthy palette of the natural forms. Three works in the front gallery—“Clash,” “A Sanded Place,” and the imposing “Shore” — are painted on unprimed linen, with large expanses of the support material exposed to the viewer. Eske continues the painted natural forms in charcoal lines drawn on the “unfinished” areas, creating a sense of incessant and undomesticated growth. In “Clash,” the empty structures lie in disarray as the plant-like forms rise up — like the tentacles of a giant squid — to reclaim the land. On the opposite wall, three works painted on blackboard continue the aesthetic of the artist’s previous show at the gallery, though with an increasingly minimalist vision. Perhaps this is nowhere more evident than in “Neighbors,” in which two empty homes, isolated from the earth and seemingly one another, drift into the unknown (Charlie James Gallery, Chinatown).
Originally published in ArtScene (October 2014)