Jonathan Wateridge Mittleland

Jonathan Wateridge, currently on show at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, will be exhibiting a collection of new and unseen paintings in All Visual Arts Autumn show. Wateridge’s exhibition, Mittelland, at All Visual Arts will show a collection of work which are united by visual and conceptual themes rather than a narrative. His paintings explore the peripheral and anonymous aspects of urban environments where the settings feel both familiar and alien. Wateridge’s works are reminiscent of the displacement prevalent in J.G Ballard’s dystopian visions.

Wateridge’s vast oil paintings, often exceeding 3 x 4m in size, portray a meticulously fabricated world.

The artist paints what he describes as elaborate fictions with visible seams,” building enormous movie-like sets and employing his friends and family to pose as characters. Prior to the first mark on the canvas, scale models are built, costumes are bought and props are constructed. The ‘set’ for Wateridge’s contemporary interpretation of Raphael’s School of Athens was particularly spectacular as the entire scene was reconstructed in his studio. These elaborate fictional constructions disturb the relationship that the viewer forms with the figures depicted.