Allouche Gallery will open its doors to a new solo exhibition by British Dimensionalist artist Adam Neate entitled Madalena on February 6th.
Neate’s inimitable compositions examine subjects as he experiments with new themes, all while remaining identifiable to his brand. His technique of expressing the essence of portraiture has exemplified his strive to avoid limitations. In December 2012, art historian Ben Jones authored, “In Adam Neate’s most recent work, space itself becomes the medium. The accumulated plasticity of Cubism’s two distinct phases has been re-energized by Neate’s own distinctive mode: Dimensional Materialism.”
Neate has mastered the essence of 4D in most of his older work, and now as he mimics human life and nature, he gives the viewer a sense of dimensionality confronting his come-to-life human figures. He explains his revert to conventional painting for Madalena.
As an exhibited artist of Allouche Gallery, Adam Neate spoke on his upcoming solo show, which will platform 24 pieces: “For this new body of work I wanted to revert back to the traditional 2D painted canvas. Since moving to Brazil in 2018, I wanted to capture daily life in and around Vila Madalena, an area in Sao Paulo where I live. With such a diverse mix of people in Sao Paulo I wanted to create a unity amongst the figures I painted. I decided upon painting the figure’s flesh in gold for it to react to the light that shines upon it. Giving the figures a luminosity. From this I went on to produce a series of portraits painted in gold, giving them a mixture of expressionism and cartoonish-ness painting them with a black line, but still trying to convey a sense of feeling and emotion within the faces.”
Madalena conveys the spirit of Neate’s neighborhood in Brazil during this time. The viewer discovers a sense of harmony within this society, amongst much division and isolation throughout the COVID pandemic.
The use of acrylic medium lifts each figurine off the canvas encouraging movement, as well as vibrant color in each “individual” highlighting diversity in this community.
Born in Colchester, UK in 1977, Adam Neate now lives and works in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Neate introduced himself to the public via a guerilla style circulation of his work: hand-painting pieces on cardboard which he distributed upon the streets of London in the early 2000s. He gradually gained acknowledgement and further transitioned to staging his pieces in galleries in the UK. He is now internationally known, specifically throughout the art markets in the Far East, accounting for his most eager audience and now passionate collector base.
Adam Neate: Madalena will be on view February 6th, with opening reception from 6-8pm. Allouche Gallery is located at 82 Gansevoort Street, in the historic meatpacking district, across from The Whitney Museum.
While you’re there, take a walk over to the Hudson River and check out the latest progress on The Little Island project, Pier 55.