ALBADA JELGERSMA Gallery is pleased to announce Temps Mort, the first solo exhibition of Mathieu Cherkit in the Netherlands. The opening reception will be in presence of the artist on Friday, November 24 from 5-9 pm during the Amsterdam Art Weekend Gallery Night. The exhibition runs through January 20.
The exhibition will showcase recent paintings by Mathieu Cherkit (Paris, 1982). Cherkit lives and works in Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris. The subject of his paintings is his grandparents' house, where the artist lives with his wife and son. The result is an intimate look in his environment, transcending his everyday life onto the canvas. Using multiple layers of thick oil paint he paints the various rooms in his house filled with antiques, staircases, and a lush green garden surrounding the house. By offering a variety of perspectives and a mix of abstract elements and diptychs, he invites us into his world.
In his paintings one sees the influences of David Hockney and Henri Matisse, but he is also influenced by the Leipzig School, whose works he got familiar with after studying at the Hochshule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig, Germany. The idea to paint one's own house is not a new one: Hockney, Monet and van Gogh are a few that come to mind. Yet, Mathieu Cherkit recreates his living space in his own way and that makes his work truly distinctive.
