Afonso Rocha Portuguese , b. 1999

Exploring the intricacies of social and interpersonal relationships through the lens of irony and humour, Rocha's practice relies on the medium of painting to create dissected portraits of contemporary life.

Resorting to a process of collage, different layers of information, references, and ideas are consecutively placed atop one another creating new compositions characterised by their contradictory and emotional ambiguity. Intimate matters and recollections are often important sources for visual concepts, but references span from literature and photography to social media, cartoons, erotic representations, among others. Simultaneously, by mixing references from the history of art with pop culture, his paintings question the legacy of Western Art while creating a semi-idealised reality that contrasts with the vulnerability established between figures. Through these uneventful scenarios, Rocha's practice delves into subjects of childhood, banality, and desire whilst exploring sexual politics and questioning stereotypical social and familial roles.
 
From small to large scale, the paintings strive to be both tender and unsettling, building their own reality instead of merely representing one.

 

ARTIST CV