Galerie Kandlhofer is pleased to present Alexander Basil´s first solo exhibition at the gallery.
Basil began his studies at The Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf aged seventeen and has since been mastering the compositional aspects of pictorial painting and portraiture. With a prodigious attention to drawing as the basis of his practice, Basil's compositions are constructed from exaggerated flat planes infused with heightened details of textiles, anatomical elements such as bruises, body hair and facial features, alongside various thematic objects.
Within his practice, Basil's work principally explores portraiture both of himself and his partner and muse Moritz Gottschalk. His works often depict the two intertwined in loving and sensual embrace, frequently with strong direct eye contact between the pair, presenting an image of synergy between body and mind and a sense of truly being seen.
This concept of seeing and to be seen is a frequent thematic element of many of Basil's paintings. His compositions regularly include objects such as mirrors, water, glasses, mobile phones; all of which hold both literal and figurative connotations of reflections both of our physical selves and our perceived identity. There is a vulnerability within this, as Basil's portrayal of his figures conveys a heightened sense of exposure, devoid of flattery and in an almost exaggerated unidealistic manner.
Basil is an admirer of the work of William Copley whose influence can be seen both in the figuration of Basil's compositions and the tensions created between unsettling representations of everyday objects. Comparisons can also be drawn to aspects of the Rococo masters such as Antoine Watteau and François Boucher. Correlations between the sensuous and voluminous nudity of the figures in the works of Watteau and Boucher, alongside the textile patterns, decorative furniture and floral elements in Basil's work create echoes of their delicate theatricality. However, Basil ultimately subverts the underlying themes of lust, eroticism and hedonism in Rococo with works which explore deeper themes of love, violence and connectivity.
