PILLARS OF WISDOM
An online exhibition of artworks by Caio Locke
“...meeting points between imagination and reality, abstraction and representation, in which inner and outer worlds combine to create a sum greater than its constituent parts... caught in a frozen snapshot of limitless potential, posing the question: would time even need to exist in these cities of the mind?”
The catalogue is available here.
The catalogue is available here.
Metropolis
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
152 x 254cm
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
152 x 254cm
Often only a façade remains of the Portuguese colonial architecture that once comprised the Lapa district of Rio, reflecting the evolution of this city where fading pockets of the past are juxtaposed with modernity. In Cine Lapa, in place of a once inhabited interior, appears a twilight metropolis, a dream filtered interpretation of Rio, its past, present and future. The historic Lapa viaduct connects the levels in a trail of time transporting the viewer upwards into the infinite with a surreal and cinematic finality. Meanwhile, the deep azures and viridians of the façade evoke the ocean bed and the distant past.
Cine Lapa
Acrylic on Canvas
152 x 122cm
SOLD
Niemeyer Landing conjures a carnival parade as it flows through a bejeweled interpretation of Rio’s iconic coastal topography. The dancers and figures allude to Brazil’s diverse cultural heritage, and further to the collective culture of the world. Yet the otherworldly costumes and expressions draw further inferences, as though these figures have transcended fear, and contain the same light by which the structure is suspended above the ground, and with which they animate the surrounding landscape. This landscape is a launch pad for creativity, the curves echoed in the floating structure, a hovering interpretation of Niemeyer’s Museum of Contemporary Art. In its turn, creativity renews life to inspire further creation in an endless cycle.
Niemeyer Landing
Acrylic on Canvas
152 x 122cm
SOLD
Deus Ex Machina
Acrylic on Canvas 152 x 122cm Deus Ex Machina echoes the human condition in its seeking of a higher state, and its potential to manifest the result, a harmony of form, as through the inexplicable resolution of a plot line. The dancer merges into the city, and the buildings become organic, reflecting a symbiosis between the architecture of natural and man-made forms under a Fibonacci spiral clouded sky.
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Oil and Progress
Acrylic on Canvas 152 x 122cm From the construction of oil rigs and proliferation of tankers and haulers in the bays of Rio and Angra, Oil and Progress conveys the vast scale and heavy mechanization of this industry that continues to drive the global economy. The cyclical and exponential character of oil use and production is evident; lorries and ships contributing to demand simultaneously double as the logistical catalysts of supply. The distant Christ, whose silhouette fades beneath the emerging derricks, belies the question of whether economic progress can be reconciled with tradition. This painting depicts a world into which we might not often see, finding disturbing beauty in unusual places, namely the dwarfing structures of oilrigs, haulers and tankers. The result is a surreal, alienating, but visually striking, floating world.
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Kingdom Crossing
Acrylic on Canvas 152 x 122cm SOLD |
Yellow Gate Water Door
Acrylic on Canvas 152 x 122cm SOLD |
In the diversity that surrounds us, there is a sense of inner life in all objects. Beauty can be found in nature and in the structures of man, yet perhaps chiefly in the reconciliation of the two. From the intertwining temples and trees of Cambodia, I sought to reaffirm this principle through the Brazil paintings, returning to a place of vivid childhood memory and wonder, which I carry with me to every fresh horizon.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
A background in etching has been formative in the development of my painting style, and childhood memories between London and Rio provided much of the early inspiration. Although I qualified as a lawyer in 2006, I had felt increasingly that painting was my true calling. After what was intended to be a year to explore the ideas I had not had time to express, painting and design has been my full-time occupation since 2007.
Working mostly in acrylic and oils, my painting process relies upon the imagination, requiring the combination of mathematical precision with abstract thought. Within the parameters of both, I find immense scope through colour and form to express my subjective response to this meeting of external and interior worlds. In this sense, the process has become a meditation, visionary in its merging of the spiritual and intellectual.
The results are compelling mindscapes that explore the notion of the city as a physical manifestation of collective human nature and consciousness, as distinct from pre-existing natural forms, but in certain ways echoing them. Avoiding depiction of the human condition in the context of pain, suffering, tragicomedy or dysfunction, the paintings invite the mind of the viewer into consideration of alternative propositions and ways of thinking. Historical, modern and futuristic references combine to induce a sense of fractal time caught in frozen motion, whilst detailed vignettes draw the eye deeply into the compositions. Time, light, energy, atmosphere and human existence bound within this matrix are constant themes, while the use of multiple perspectives provides engrossing depths in which these elements interact.
My work has been exhibited in various guises both in London and internationally. Recent commissions include sculpture designs, music covers, and the beachwear designs for a Brazilian fashion label. It has received public attention through participation in major public art projects including London Elephant Parade (2010), Edinburgh Jungle City (2011), Fabergé Big Egg Hunt (2012), Stand Tall, Colchester (2013) and more recently for the Chakravarty Cup 2014, at the Oaktree & Tiger Gallery in South Kensington and at the Ashurst London Gallery Space (2016). I have had artwork featured in the New York Times, Rooms Magazine, Drapers Online, Forbes Magazine, Evening Standard, Classic Car Magazine, Old Wellingtonian.
Working mostly in acrylic and oils, my painting process relies upon the imagination, requiring the combination of mathematical precision with abstract thought. Within the parameters of both, I find immense scope through colour and form to express my subjective response to this meeting of external and interior worlds. In this sense, the process has become a meditation, visionary in its merging of the spiritual and intellectual.
The results are compelling mindscapes that explore the notion of the city as a physical manifestation of collective human nature and consciousness, as distinct from pre-existing natural forms, but in certain ways echoing them. Avoiding depiction of the human condition in the context of pain, suffering, tragicomedy or dysfunction, the paintings invite the mind of the viewer into consideration of alternative propositions and ways of thinking. Historical, modern and futuristic references combine to induce a sense of fractal time caught in frozen motion, whilst detailed vignettes draw the eye deeply into the compositions. Time, light, energy, atmosphere and human existence bound within this matrix are constant themes, while the use of multiple perspectives provides engrossing depths in which these elements interact.
My work has been exhibited in various guises both in London and internationally. Recent commissions include sculpture designs, music covers, and the beachwear designs for a Brazilian fashion label. It has received public attention through participation in major public art projects including London Elephant Parade (2010), Edinburgh Jungle City (2011), Fabergé Big Egg Hunt (2012), Stand Tall, Colchester (2013) and more recently for the Chakravarty Cup 2014, at the Oaktree & Tiger Gallery in South Kensington and at the Ashurst London Gallery Space (2016). I have had artwork featured in the New York Times, Rooms Magazine, Drapers Online, Forbes Magazine, Evening Standard, Classic Car Magazine, Old Wellingtonian.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Oaktree & Tiger are an art gallery, art consultant and art projects team based in South Kensington, London, that specialise in emerging artists with the core vision of launching, building and supporting artists' careers via innovative projects, events, promotion and advisory services.
We also source and advise on art for private clients and corporates, and offer art rental agreements and investment, as a way to support up and coming talent while giving you flexibility to periodically change the collection to suit your requirements.
See more at www.oaktreeandtiger.com
We also source and advise on art for private clients and corporates, and offer art rental agreements and investment, as a way to support up and coming talent while giving you flexibility to periodically change the collection to suit your requirements.
See more at www.oaktreeandtiger.com