Glen Pudvine
Portals
Every person that I see, that symbol that I see, that body that I see is a portal for me to interact with a consciousness. And each consciousness has a unique character and we call it a personality. So with each new kid that’s born, we come in contact with a personality we’ve never seen before.
Donald Hoffman, Cognitive Psychologist, Professor and Author
Xxijra Hii is pleased to present Portals, an exhibition of new paintings by Glen Pudvine.
In this new body of work, Pudvine presents us with an outward view of self-portraiture with elements that constitute the artist’s daily life and in part; their identity.
Pudvine’s recent works are searching for new motifs through the objects and rituals in their daily life. In doing so, the subject matter has become enveloped by an accompanying context that frames the picture. These portals enable the artist to depart from previous allegory by acting as a stand-in for the body and painting as a whole, to then explore the relationships between the idiosyncrasies that make up a whole self.
In ‘Portals’, we experience a subtle and obstructed narrative which provides a glimpse into a private and often vulnerable world. Pudvine chooses to present us with what could be perceived as a reminder of our mortality, one such example being the huge anamorphic tortellini surrounded by dinosaur scales: ‘Skull, 2022’. The work ominously looks down upon the viewer and draws the gaze of the artist’s parents in ‘Life is perspective, Kendrick Lamar, 2022’, who glance up in acknowledgement from their dying star, engaging the audience as one portal becomes aware of another.
There is an intimate stillness in the subject matter throughout these paintings playing on worship from a personal and secular sensibility, suggesting slowing down to contemplate a mole hidden in the ear via the handle of a mug, a fleshy doorway as captured on Mars by the aptly named Curiosity Rover or a window into Lucas Cranach’s ‘Garden of Eden’ passing the nostrils of Pudvine’s partner, as only the artist can experience. This ‘universe’ as presented to us explores common stages of childhood, parenthood, love, existentialism and agency; littered with motifs of curiosity and past experience. ‘Portals’ assigns great value in reminding us of the importance to be present in the smallest, yet precious moments of time that could define our personality and perhaps our lives.
