Aleph Contemporary is delighted to present 'The Stifled Cry', a virtual exhibition of paintings by two of London's most exciting young artists Miroslav Pomichal and Archie Franks accompanied by a text by Sacha Craddock.
The exhibition draws its title from the 'le cri étouffé or 'stifled cry' much talked about by the French/Russian expressionist Chaïm Soutine who is an inspiration to both artists. Soutine described the stifled cry as pain trapped in the throat and it is one of the signature themes running through his work - still-life and landscape - as well as his portraiture. The notion of a stifled cry hits a nerve today as we try to suppress our emotions and keep calm and carry on during the pandemic.
Both Archie Franks and Miroslav Pomichal admire Soutine, whose emphatic work is about the close relation between description and paint, the making of a physical skin, upon which to hang subject. Both artists like to marry suggestion with material in such a way as to build subject and justification. ~ Sacha Craddock
Fairgrounds and fast food serve as inspiration for painter Archie Franks who has a fascination with the speed of consumerism in modern life, depicting familiar childhood items such as fizzy drinks and snacks in a detailed painterly style that contrasts markedly with the subject-matter. Ghost trains and ghoulish scenes also feature in his paintings as he depicts our lust for excitement and danger - even terror - to relieve the boredom of everyday existence.
The joy of eating, drinking or visiting a place, is transported and transcribed in a slippery sometimes deliberately tawdry language. ~ SC
Miroslav Pomichal has two huge motivations: knowledge and art. He has an impressive list of degrees, and works as an art history teacher. Pomichal explains that he took up painting after studying it for many years, in order to experience the real physicality of life, its visual language and creative potential. His paintings are expressive, offering powerful insights into his own life experiences with a smattering of playful references to the past. The artist's aim in his painting is to "reach beyond the medium, beyond itself".
As if lifted from a comic - all front and fanfare – the artist paints with sophisticated ease and great humour to make a sort of pimped Cubism while formal toughness renders each of the paintings as full as an overcrowded ship, perhaps of fools, while the virtuoso effect of light on dark as well as glow is easily as reminiscent of Venice Beach as Venice. ~ SC
Sacha Craddock is a renowned curator, writer, broadcaster and lecturer and a fan of the work of Pomichal and Franks.