The work: Chris de la Motte, Goated, 2023. Acrylic and vinyl paint, 150 x 120cm. Courtesy: the artist and PIERMARQ*
When asked what his works look like, Sydney-based artist Chris de la Motte says this: “Imagine walking into the Uffizi after it had been vandalised by someone with a tin of fluorescent paint and a pair of scissors.” Based on King David by Guercino, a master of the Italian Baroque, de la Motte’s Goated certainly fits the bill. Gone are the muted tones and modulated shadows. Instead, we find our sitter throwing stretches of luminous green against the temple walls. Fascinated with the differences between the methodologies of the old masters and the capabilities of modern paint, the artist plays with colours and textures that would have been nigh-on impossible to achieve in the Baroque period with oil paints and natural pigments. David’s robe, once soft (if not a little rigid), now seems preternaturally silky and alive with light. His crown gleams bright atop his head, luminous in a way Guercino could only have dreamed of. De la Motte’s avid respect for the Old Masters here translates into a tongue-in-cheek reinterpretation of an iconic work, creating new meanings with ancient brushstrokes. His show, It Is What It Is, will be showing at PIERMARQ* Projects, PIERMARQ*, in Surry Hills from Thursday 26 October.