Arie Azene

 

 

The works of the Arie Azene document the insular ambiance of a specific cosmopolitan milieu. The totality of the environment in which he lives and works - from the rococo calligraphy of street signs and geometric configurations of architecture to the gleam of passing automobiles- act as stimuli which the artist then crystallizes into unique "portraits" of a neighborhood.

 

At the heart of these paintings lies Azene's fascination with the appearance and habits of a tribe generally categorized as urban inhabitants. The costumes, haircuts, facial expressions, gestures of types, and stereotypes: those people who stand out in a crowd and imprint themselves on the viewer’s mind - animate the places he portrays with a particular, special identity.

 

Throughout his career, Azene has forged personal histories through the exploration of information implicit in the tactile, or that which can be seen. Where his earlier work draws on the nostalgic, sometimes talismanic, qualities of past mementos, these recent paintings are characterized by their contemporaneity and fleeting immediacy - a present-centered only on external values.

 

Utilizing a technique reminiscent of cinematic montage, the artist collects, edits, and rearranges each pictorial component, carefully controlling the visual texts that are born in his mind and transferred to the canvas.