Alain Biltereyst “Oh My Days”

Jack Hanley

[Image: Alain Biltereyst “Untitled" (2017) Acrylic on panel, 61 x 44 x 1 in.]

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Jack Hanley presents Oh My Days, Alain Biltereyst’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition features two sets of new paintings that embed imageries of everyday life in geometric abstractions. In addition to Biltereyst’ standardized painting of book-sized 10.2 x 7.5 inch panels, the exhibitions debuts a series of large scale paintings.

By applying heavy layers of acrylic paint onto thick wooden panels, Biltereyst creates a visual language of poetic simplicity. Shape and color, triangles, grids, and parallelograms form the imagery of the artist’s pure abstractions. Behind the seemingly unblemished geometric shapes, the paintings reveal carefully crafted imperfections: slight variations in color, paint blobs and casually overpainted surfaces emphasize the painterly gesture and distance the work form computer generated designs and graphics.

Graphic designs for advertising, commercial signage on the side of trucks or planes and designs of fences or gates serve as the primary source of Biltereyst’s imagery. While the paintings clearly refer to historic abstractions of a modernist canon, the works simultaneously reference everyday contemporary life and objects. The artist’s carefully chosen details of his surroundings draw attention to early designs that are frequently overlooked because of their visual ubiquity people have become accustomed to.

The object-like thickness of the panels along with their uniformity in size reference the seriality of their designs and objects. Bringing these mass-produced designs back to life in individually hand crafted paintings, the artist’s reference to pop culture has come full circle.

Alain Biltereyst (b. 1965) lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. Recent solo exhibitions include Not Just Because at Devening Projects, Chicago, Elsewhere at Loods12, Wetteren, Belgium, Slow, Simple, Sweet at Brand New Gallery, Milan, Dear Everyday at Nogueras Blanchard, Madrid, Geo Land at Jack Hanley Gallery. The artist also participated in Minesota Street Project, John Berggruen Gallery, The B&W Project #5 at Transmitter, Brooklyn, Form Follows Function? at Art Center Hugo Voeten, Herentals, Belgium, Spaghetti Code at Viewing Room, Los Angeles.