SINS AND OTHER FLOWERS in Galerie 244

This new series of works by Regis Goncalves brings together elements and experiences form his past. The references to ‘La Divina Commedia’ symbolize his Catholic upbringing in which sins and temptations were suppressed by the threat of purgatory and hellfire and the promise of heaven. The Florentine poet Dante could not have expressed it more aptly.

He chooses to abstract his narratives into tactile, symbolic, carefully composed and selected color fields in which the light is given freedom to express its qualities. From these shimmering fields – are they landscapes, still lifes or simply the spaces in which he lives his life? – natural forms push their way to the fore. Flowers or flower-like elements as the antithesis (or perhaps free interpretations?) of the sins. In this way he seems to want to express his ambivalent attitude to the seven deadly sins. Temptations are not easy to resist, sins derive their gravity from the context in which they are presented.

The colors and materials he uses are always inspired by and stem from his surroundings. While in Ghana he discovers the wooden panels on which fabric and grass provide depth and tactile effects. In Dubai the desert landscape is added, with its multicoloredness within one color, its texture, its emptiness, and also its fluctuations of heat and cold. These experiences inspire him to make his own colors, to make him less dependent on his surroundings. In other words, to enable him to take his multicolored surroundings with him.

Goncalves’ work is not easy to interpret. This is because he (often literally) hides its meaning underneath thick layers of paint in this broad spectrum of colors. By this he entices the viewer and urges him to delve deeper. A slender helping hand is offered by his serial-like, installation-like presentation.

The Exhibition will be opened by the president of Raad voor Cultuur (advisory organ of the Dutch government) Joop J. Daalmeijer. Open for public, 16:00-18:00hrs.