A solo exhibition by London-based artist Michael Raedecker included new paintings and a selection from the last 5 years.
He uses a unique combination of thread and paint to create his atmospheric paintings. They derive from and also reinvent different genres from the history of art including still lifes, landscapes, ruins and flower paintings.
Before starting each painting, Raedecker questions its legitimacy today. Why this motif? What is the current relevance of the genre? The diversity of the images in the paintings shows his fascination with the possibilities and limitations of the medium. He treats their heritage with both nostalgia and suspicion.
In the new work, Raedecker referenced flowers, washing, cakes, table-cloths, sheets, lace, food and houses. These domestic topics and the decorative associations of needlework create a friction with the fetishistic nature of these paintings.
He sourced images from second hand books, magazines, old catalogues, paintings, film stills and photographs. Using details from these images he made his own original drawings, transfered them onto canvas and builds up the paintings with paint and different types of thread and wool.
Raedecker infused his paintings with an eerie familiarity, and the sombre palette of subdued greys, blues and browns reinforces the darker and more surreal qualities.
Born and brought up in The Netherlands, Raedecker initially studied and worked as a fashion designer before becoming a painter. At art school he developed his unique style of producing paintings, intertwining his early love of textiles with his new preoccupation with paint.
