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Almine Rech

Ted Pim Full Moon

Jan 19 — Feb 25, 2023 | Brussels

Inquire about the exhibition: inquiries@alminerech.com
The gallery is open from 11 am until 7 pm.

Ted Pim once watched a nature documentary where a tree fell in a forest. In the film, he saw the repercussions, how the fauna and flora on the forest floor struggled, climbing over each other in an attempt to get to the light. ‘That is how I see my flower paintings’, he explains: that underneath – or as part of – the beauty of the paintings, is this dark overtone.

Of course, Pim’s paintings are inspired by the old masters. In his studio, printed images of Dutch seventeenth century and Italian Renaissance paintings, among others, are tacked to the walls next to the canvases he is working on. Each painting can have a number of sources, so a floral work could be inspired by a Dutch Golden Age canvas and a dress from a contemporary fashion shoot can end up as the garb of one of Pim’s figures, looking contemporary and Renaissance at once. This mix of high art and mass produced imagery is in keeping with Pim’s work, where references, direct quotations, source imagery, stories and personal associations meet. He builds singular paintings from multiple art historical sources, and the result is a personal vision, where, Pim says, he constructs his own reality.

These diverse reference points are at times easier to recognise than others. The starting point for this show was the triptych, in which the Madonna and Child Pim paints are a direct quotation from Raphael’s c.1506 painting of Mary, Christ and the infant John the Baptist, known as the Madonna of the Goldfinch (because John the Baptist holds and shows the little bird to Jesus, who touches it gently). Pim was raised Catholic, in Belfast. Though he is no longer religious, the images he saw in church in his childhood have fed into and inspired his artwork: ‘I'm still fascinated by the extravagance of it all, the gold, the Baroque paintings, the feeling of awe when you enter a grand chapel’. Raphael’s numerous representations of the Madonna are some of the most iconic imagery created in the religion.

Press release

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Selected artworks

  • Ted Pim,                                      Lost arts, 2022

    Ted Pim Lost arts, 2022

    Oil on linen
    200 x 130 cm
    78 1/2 x 51 in

  • Ted Pim,                                      Past Life, 2022

    Ted Pim Past Life, 2022

    Oil on linen
    200 x 130 cm
    78 1/2 x 51 in

  • Ted Pim,                                      Light Trip, 2022

    Ted Pim Light Trip, 2022

    Oil on linen
    200 x 130 cm
    78 1/2 x 51 in

  • Ted Pim,                                      Acid clouds, 2022

    Ted Pim Acid clouds, 2022

    Oil on linen
    112 x 80 cm
    44 x 31 1/2 in

  • Reprise, 2022

    Reprise, 2022

    Oil on linen
    60 x 45 cm
    23 1/2 x 17 1/2 in

  • Ted Pim,                                      Self care carrousel, 2022

    Ted Pim Self care carrousel, 2022

    Oil on linen
    80 x 200 cm
    31 1/2 x 78 1/2 in

  • Ted Pim,                                      Once upon a time, 2022

    Ted Pim Once upon a time, 2022

    Oil on linen
    200 x 390 cm
    78 1/2 x 153 1/2 in

  • Ted Pim,                                      Porcelain, 2022

    Ted Pim Porcelain, 2022

    Oil on linen
    20 x 26 cm
    8 x 10 in

  • Ted Pim,                                      Sixth digit, 2022

    Ted Pim Sixth digit, 2022

    Oil on linen
    31 x 38 cm
    12 x 15 in

  • Ted Pim,                                      Full moon (Double Ruysch), 2022

    Ted Pim Full moon (Double Ruysch), 2022

    Oil on linen
    120 x 74 cm
    47 x 29 in

  • Ted Pim,                                      Drawing for once upon a time, 2022

    Ted Pim Drawing for once upon a time, 2022

    Pencil on paper
    60 x 48 cm (unframed)
    23 1/2 x 19 in (unframed)
    67.5 x 55.5 cm (framed)
    26 1/2 x 21 1/2 in (framed)

  • Ted Pim,                                      Drawing for self care carrousel, 2022

    Ted Pim Drawing for self care carrousel, 2022

    20 x 49 cm (framed)
    8 x 19 1/2 in (unframed)
    27 x 56,5 cm (framed)
    10 1/2 x 22 in (framed)

  • Ted Pim,                                      Drawing for hands of time, 2022

    Ted Pim Drawing for hands of time, 2022

    Pencil on paper
    21.5 x 29.5 cm (unframed)
    8 1/2 x 11 1/2 in (unframed)
    37 x 29 cm (framed)
    14 1/2 x 11 1/2 in (framed)

  • Ted Pim,                                      Drawing for rainbow wings, 2022

    Ted Pim Drawing for rainbow wings, 2022

    Pencil on paper
    10 x 20 cm (unframed)
    4 x 8 in (unframed)
    17 x 28 cm (framed)
    6 1/2 x 11 in (framed

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