James AldridgeAldridge is a British artist, whose practice includes oil painting and paper cutting. His themes are of flaura and fauna, inspired by the landscapes of Scandinavia where he currently resides.
(left "Halo of Flies" 2007)I've been a quiet admirer of his for several years, having seen a show of his at the David Risley gallery in East London back in 2005. The afore mentioned gallery moved to Copenhagen at the end of 2008, but not before showing Aldridge latest body of work, which totally blew me away. The new paintings were bigger and more elaborate that ever before; the paper cutouts were darker and more detailed, showing off Aldridge's amazing scissor skills.
What I love about his work is the multiple layers of colours and shapes; the themes of nature, life and death. His paintings are colourful, yet the colour is never bright or light. It is a little grim and dirty. There is often a mix of living and dead animals. I'm fascinated by that association.
His cutouts are more gothic, not only because they are black on white, but because of the numerous skulls, ravens, moths and entertwining lines that make most of the work.
To me it is simply stunning!
It's a shame his work is too expensive for me to purchase.
( left: "Prayer" 2008, below right: "Blood, Smoke and Thorns" 2008)
(below: "Trinity" 2006)
Maurice Sendak's famous children book is about to come to life as a film directed by Spike Jonze. The trailer should be online soon.
film pictures from www.cpluv.com
