Ice that a key you’re holding Mr Iceman?
aim
“In ‘Primitice 12’ aim again asks questions. Could that be a key The Iceman is holding? Why so many Blocks[apparently he did sometimes melt more than on ice-block at once]. ‘aim’ produces a heterogeneous picture here. The contradictions are refuted-the blocks are both undersized and larger than life. They are solid yet fragile. They are malleabale, yet unforgiving. The determination of form, mass, materiality and space leads to a presentation of the Block as Block. Process is always implicit in aim’s painting of The Iceman in action. Of course audiences were witnessing the very process of The Iceman melting a Block that would melt at a different speed if The Iceman did not intervene. Is aim making a caustic comment on the artist’s vision?Is the Block referenced as commodity, but also an impossible ‘collector’s’ piece? It’s vanitas is symbolised eloquently by the spread of icy material. This is a painting that almost seems vapid but for the manifold muscular contractions-casual and poetic, deliberate and mundane-make your choice!. An overheated art world market echoes the crisis of planetary Climate Change. aim seems to say to society. ‘where is your society?’ [Kafe Smictiric-art critic]
aim
Primitice12
aim
20″x9.5″
“Primitice 6 has a Kafkaesque edge. There is a playfully subversive satirical critique of social dynamics within art-is this particular Iceman wearing a beret? Is it referencing Suprematism or Die Brucke?-it’s impossible to specify. Could it even be the artist aim himself role-playing The Iceman himself. Aim’s paintings always ask questions. Is it referring to chine colé or belle époque or atelier populaire?Is the space public or institutional? Social stratification is hinted at. Is the painting referring to marginalisation? Does it show Celebrity culture married to an insular exclusivity causing a denial of the self? Is the Block masquerading as a waterfall(notice the pale blue hue hinting at the gentleness of water)) inviting the Ice to let go subliminally? The figure seems to be looking at the viewer, nudging him/her and challenging him/ her to sympathise with the power relations intrinsic in The Iceman’s performance art. There is a crafty manipulation of feelings in tandem with a beguiling innocence that breathes out of the picture. This biomorphic image almost has a diptych effect with the contrast between Block and Man-a faint suggestion of two frames. I am overwhelmed by the number of questions that well up in me,a seasoned art critic. Frankly,aim beautifully tires me out -I have to find the nearest bed and rest. Is this the artist’s intention? Oh No-now I am asking the questions!” [Kafe Smictiric-art critic]
“Aim-you are surely being outrageous here! Here,in Pr7, there are references to minimalism and modernism. The demise of the utopian ideology of the modernist tradition is implicit . There is an architectural element that conveys a sense of solidity. This is a hard-edged painting. It is almost colourful yet there are monochrome elements. The paint patches on one level look like a homage to Twombly .The colours are squeezed out of the brush or palette knife/fingers. The combination of dark and light hues are playfully testing the boundaries of the visibly non-absent and the visibly clearly present. “Leave that drip alone” may be good advice but aim guides that drip elsewhere and makes it define emotional purity. It’s not quite a nightmare, a psychosis, or a compulsion-it’s more a statement of hope. From the abyss of existence The Iceman seems to say “Here I am”. The ecstatic transformation of fragile bodies encounter indomitable forces. There is an inevitability of action. It’s ambiguous and yet clear and triumphant in essence. If ever a Block was a Block, this is one hell of a Block! A complex simplicity challenges the viewer to re-examine what a visual signal actually is. The contrast between the black figure and the white Block and head makes us wonder what it is to be human. Who is the Block?I wish I had had the privilege of seeing a Block live but the paintings convey what the atmosphere must have been like in those electric times. The presumably intentionally clumsy writing of IM and BLOCK and aim emphasise the primitive depths of this primeval image. In one way it’s pure Zooptraxiscope ,in other ways it is a vignette of virtuosity not normally associated with aim’s work. It’s a synthesis of the baroque and the rococco through a sort of biomorphic translation-it’s a cartes-de-visite , a trope concentric. In essence it’s an action painting that captures some of the raw energy that must have manifested itself during the performance of a live BLOCK. I have heard that audiences used to chant “Deep!Deep!”- I’m not surprised.” [Kafe Smictiric-art critic]
12 Blocks+
aim
19″x10.5″
“The painter aim surprises again. Behind this extraordinary series of six framed pictures within a picture, there is an intellectual rigour and a formal elegance that belies the actual seeming roughness of the images. They are indeed primitive like the name given to the series but they are also strangely sophisticated. These images capture what is barely present like the solid Ice-block that will disappear. Central to all aim’s oeuvre is the motif of the Block. In fact, in one title, aim refers to this being a painting of 12 Blocks, perhaps playfully signifying that The Iceman himself is a “Block”! There is a photochemical phenomenality here, achieved through aim’s masterly treatment of light and shade. It is almost an acid allegory of the early avant-garde. The ambience of the captivated,captivting and captured Block creates an architectural setting ,especially manifest in the elongation of the six frames. Poetic expression marries aspects of common reality with earthly bliss. Is the Block on the verge of extinction? The strong horizontal and vertical lines trap the Blocks for future generations. Aim will never be drawn on his themes. Sometimes there seem to be references to global warming and climate change. Other times there seems to be a fundamental existential question posed directly, challenging the viewer to be more aware of their present life. I personally just can’t wait until aim’s next painting. As an art critic of long-standing, it behoves me to perhaps be more critical but with this particular painter, it is difficult to write without praise.” [Kafe Smictiric-art critic]
aim
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