Toby Ziegler: Pronk

Pronk is a solo exhibition of new paintings by the British artist Toby Ziegler, which continues to analyze time compression in painting and the speed at which images are made and unmade. In these new works, the artist moves between expression and abstraction, dismantling narrative and pictorial space, and dismantling chronological order.

In the exhibition, the artist brings together eight new paintings from the 17th-century still life tradition, from the works of the Flemish master Jan Bruegel the Elder and the German artist Abraham Mignon. His appeal to the vanitas theme is its ability to express the moment when time freezes, while emphasizing its fragility, thereby expressing a sense of continuity.

His still lifes are recognizable at first glance as the historical paintings they reference, but upon closer inspection, areas of substrate - aluminum or pink plaster - interrupt the picture. Using an orbital sander to wipe off the surface of the panel directly contrasts the time-consuming process of figurative painting and the speed of erasing. However, these works present themselves to the viewer at a very slow pace, compressing time from the making of the source painting and its subsequent lifespan to the reincarnation of his own image.
・・・
#Pronk
#TobyZiegler