A face that shatters into facets. A skull. Bees that are vanishing. David Monllor’s paintings tell of a world that is slowly dissolving, and of humans caught in its midst.
Dystopian Visions
In Fade into Nothing, David Monllor presents dystopian scenes in which decay is ever-present. The extinction of animals, in this case bees, stands for a natural world slipping away from us. Skulls recall our own mortality, and birds appear again and again as a motif. His people seem to dissolve into facets: portraits that were photorealistically precise just a moment ago explode into splinters of colour and light. This movement within the image creates an entirely new aesthetic in the viewer’s eye.
Between Dissolution and Rembrandt
For several years now, David Monllor has been painting in oil. His works range from meticulously executed, photorealistic paintings to abstracted portraits that break down into their component parts. Throughout, he shows a keen sense for the mood of light. Alongside the modern-looking, dissolving portraits, he also presents entirely classical portraits whose chiaroscuro recalls the atmosphere of a Rembrandt.
About the Artist
David Monllor was born in 1987 in the Swiss canton of Aargau to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, and still lives and works there today. As a child, he discovered his passion for figurative depiction and painting. At the age of twelve, he came into contact with graffiti, a subculture that has had a lasting influence on his work. His contacts in the urban art scene led to countless travels: he painted with many urban artists, was invited to international art festivals and created facade-sized murals. Self-taught, he perfected his spray can technique, and hyperrealistic portraits became his trademark.
In recent years, David Monllor has shown his work in exhibitions in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, including at the Colab Gallery, formerly the Carhartt Gallery. Fade into Nothing at Pretty Portal is his first solo exhibition in Germany.
“Fade into Nothing”
David Monllor
Opening
Friday, 28 February 2014
Exhibition
28 February – 28 March 2014
Pretty Portal
Brunnenstraße 12
40223 Düsseldorf
