Noir Noir Noir

Mambo has gathered these pieces along several years, since his first studio in Los Angeles in 2011. He started to repaint and so to say “recycle“ artworks from the Humans and Brainology series, which did not feel complete and satisfying to him. The decision to do “something else” with it, slowly grew into a concept based on black painted gestures, which were covering colors, shapes and figures. This sharp intervention created a subtle interplay between joy and seriousness. Once the black paint was applied, the initially colorful and energetic artworks, expanded into a whole different dimension. They revive a fresh dynamic and nevertheless they contain fractions of their first life.

The black brushstrokes are highly gestural and almost calligraphic. Each artwork sets the tone for its own characters defined by thick and fine swings, scratches into the wet paint, various shades and combinations of black tones. Interestingly for this series is the artist has created a color by himself, which was made of pencil powder that he collected over the years from his sharpener. Lastly, ghosts silhouettes appear on the works, which were drawn with mat and glossy varnish leftovers.