Layers of Time, 2021-2024 (Detail) | Oil and acrylic on canvas, 220 x 160 cmChristiane Pooley
Geographies of Love
Date
May 11 - June 30, 2024
Location
Gallery 38, Tokyo
Geographies of Love, presents a captivating new series of paintings that explore the ways in which an emotional connection to place plays a critical role in shaping one’s psychological landscape and social identity.
For Pooley, ‘home’ is not just a point on the map, but a collection of cultural, social and emotional landscapes, which are expressed in her paintings through fragmented and overlayed images as well as through areas of figuration and abstraction. These latest works in particular explore the emotional resonance of colour, the interplay between warm and cold hues, as well as the potential of stillness as inspired by the Swedish geographer Gunnar Olsson’s belief that ‘the silent spaces between the words often sound louder than the words themselves.’
‘I feel a sense of belonging in my painting,’ Pooley has said and in a way, this is also what an encounter with her work offers: a quiet and expansive place for introspection.
A Grain Farm, 2023 | Oil on canvas, 27 x 22 cm
Surface and Anchor, 2023 | Oil on canvas, 73 x 60 cm
Shield, 2023 | Oil on canvas, 140 x 100 cm
Spatial Dialogues, 2023 | Oil on canvas, 73 x 60 cm
Space Between Us, 2023 | Oil on canvas, 140 x 100 cm
Born in 1983, Pooley spent her childhood in a region of Chile with a complex history due to colonization and the collision of different world views . She studied painting in Chile, then moved her base from Chile to London, and from London to Paris, where she gained high acclaim as a painter. She creates paintings that seem to lie between dreams and reality, based on the landscapes she grew up and her family's archival photographs. While a large part of each images are often abstract and the soft impression might momentarily evoke nostalgia. Howeve, the bold and powerful brushstrokes and a subtly ominous atmosphere give the audience a sense of tension.
In her 2021 solo exhibition "Distance" at Gallery 38, inspired by the concept of 'distance' from a physical place of origin as well as from others, during the pandemic, Pooley explored themes of displacement and absence. Her new works dive deeper into introspective emotions, further uncovering themes of ‘belonging’ and the relationship between the individual and the concept of ‘home’: “one of the most basic social concepts by which individuals, families, nations, and regions understand themselves in relation to others” (Home—So Different, So Appealing, LACMA Museum, 2017). For Pooley, 'home' transcends its physical location, and becomes a concept rooted within personal history and emotion. It is not just a point on a map, but encompasses as a collection of geographical, cultural, social, and emotional landscapes. “Can the fictional space of painting create a real sense of belonging?” In this pursuit, she quotes Simone Weil ‘To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul’ (L'Enracinement, Simone Weil).
In her 2021 solo exhibition "Distance" at Gallery 38, inspired by the concept of 'distance' from a physical place of origin as well as from others, during the pandemic, Pooley explored themes of displacement and absence. Her new works dive deeper into introspective emotions, further uncovering themes of ‘belonging’ and the relationship between the individual and the concept of ‘home’: “one of the most basic social concepts by which individuals, families, nations, and regions understand themselves in relation to others” (Home—So Different, So Appealing, LACMA Museum, 2017). For Pooley, 'home' transcends its physical location, and becomes a concept rooted within personal history and emotion. It is not just a point on a map, but encompasses as a collection of geographical, cultural, social, and emotional landscapes. “Can the fictional space of painting create a real sense of belonging?” In this pursuit, she quotes Simone Weil ‘To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul’ (L'Enracinement, Simone Weil).
Pooley consistently aims to captivate viewers through the medium of painting. She utilizes this medium to bring together seemingly disparate elements on the canvas, allowing them to harmonize and convey a unified message or evoke specific emotions.
"Geographies of Love" echoes the process of assembling different concepts. It uses another lens to view reality, in this case through "love" or attachment to places and people. The feeling of rootedness and the emotional connections that tie individuals to specific places and communities play a critical role in shaping one's psychological landscape and social identity. As viewers stand before her landscapes, questioning who the figures are or where the scenes are set, they begin to dialogue with their own memories, exploring different perspectives of the scene. In a world full of conflict and confusion, Pooley's paintings invite viewers to touch upon the layered memories and timelines within themselves. In a world where dialogue derived from respect for others is crucial, its power resonates sincerely.
"Geographies of Love" echoes the process of assembling different concepts. It uses another lens to view reality, in this case through "love" or attachment to places and people. The feeling of rootedness and the emotional connections that tie individuals to specific places and communities play a critical role in shaping one's psychological landscape and social identity. As viewers stand before her landscapes, questioning who the figures are or where the scenes are set, they begin to dialogue with their own memories, exploring different perspectives of the scene. In a world full of conflict and confusion, Pooley's paintings invite viewers to touch upon the layered memories and timelines within themselves. In a world where dialogue derived from respect for others is crucial, its power resonates sincerely.
Swako Fukai
Missing Pages, 2024 | Oil on canvas, 165 x 140 cm
Drop, 2023 | Oil on canvas, 27 x 22 cm
Stillness, 2023 | Oil on canvas, 73 x 60 cm